Shadow Claw
by saraki22
Summary: Naruto is reported dead after the fight with Zabuza and Haku, but is actually taken in by a mysterious being in order to revive a lost fighting style.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

A top the colossal main gates that lead to Kohona a chunin guard watches as three individuals walk down the path. From the way they move, he can tell that they are shinobi. Gesturing to his fellow guards the chunin called attention to the three. After brief nods he jumps down in front of them as the come with in ten meters of the gates.

"Halt!" the guard called, "Who are you and what is your business?"

The tallest one, a man with silver hair steps forward, "Team Seven returning from a mission to Wave Country."

The guard then noticed the Kohana forehead protector covering the left eye of the speaker and immediately recognized him, "Oh sorry Kakashi, I didn't recognize you for a moment." The chunin paused and looked at the only visible eye and noted that the normal lazy expression was absent. He then glanced at Kakashi's companions and noticed a lack of a third member, "Where is your other team member?" The look from the two gennins was all it took for him to understand, "You should go to the Hokaga and report."

Without a word the three tired looking shinobi entered their home. The chunin guard watched them go feeling sympathy for the team. He had lost a member on his team when he was a gennin as well. His thoughts were interrupted by his fellow guard landing next to him, "Hey who was that?"

"Gennin Team Seven," the first guard stated, "They lost a member on their mission."

"Which member?" the second asked.

"Don't know," the first answered.

"Did you see a boy with black hair?" a third asked.

"Yeah," the first responded, "Followed by a girl with pink hair."

"Good," the second said with a sadistic smile.

"Good?" the first asked angered, "What's so good about it!"

"Team Seven consisted of the last Uchiha, some no name girl and Him," the third guard said the last part with venom in his speech.

"Him?" the first asked, "Him who?" The others to gave him a look and it dawned on the guard who 'Him' was. "And to think I was feeling sorry for him a moment ago. Good riddance, he should have been killed years ago."

"Your telling me," the second agreed. "To think the last Uchiha had to be teamed up with it."

"At least now it's gone," the third said, "And the Uchiha won't be dragged down by it." The others nodded in agreement and went back to their posts.

There was a knock on the Hokage's door. For a moment the old leader smiled, he hated doing paper work and some one wanting to see him was a good excuse to stop. "Come in!" he called. The people that entered surprised him, Team Seven. Only Team seven was not complete. Waiting patiently for the report he already knew what the most important part was.

"Hokaga-sama," Kakashi began, "We have just come back from the C Rank mission to Wave Country that was assigned to us. The mission turned out to be an A Rank, which involved missing-nin from Hidden Mist. And as a result of the Missing-nin's former employer the third member of Team Seven, Uzumaki Naruto, is dead."

The Third Hokage glanced at the two remaining gennins and saw their pain. Sakura was barely holding back the tears after the mention of her blond teammate. Sasuke held a placid look on his face but his eyes showed a mix of fury and sadness. The Third had seen this look on him before, when he had to ask him about the death of his clan. He had hoped to never see the look on the heir ever again. "Thank you Kakashi," he finally said. Turning to the two gennins he continued, "You two may leave now. We will make arrangements for a funeral soon." Sasuke nodded and pulled the now crying Sakura out of the room, as they left the Hokage thought, "I'm afraid that those two may be some of the very few that will come to his funeral." Turning his attention back to Kakashi he asked, "What happened?"

Kakashi took a deep breath and began, "A battle started on top of the bridge our client was constructing at the time…"

Sasuke squared off the masked boy from earlier now known as Haku. At first the battle between the two appeared to be even. Thanks to the training that Sasuke had gone through he was able to keep up with the Missing-nin. That was until the masked boy started performing one-handed hand seals, a feat that even Kakashi had never witnessed before. Suddenly the battle turned against the Leaf shinobi as needles made of ice began to fly at Sasuke.

For a brief moment it appeared that Haku had the upper hand but because of his recent chakra training Sasuke was able to match Haku's speed and able to dodge the needles. Now the situation was reversed as Sasuke soon gained the upper hand.

"…Sasuke kicked the Haku back," Kakashi told, "There was an exchange between Zabuza and Haku, and Haku activated his bloodlimit." The Hokage listened intrigued as the jounin told the story of the demise of his favorite loudmouth. "Haku was able to create a prison of ice mirrors and trapped Sasuke. The fight continued for several minutes and it appeared that Sasuke was about to lose, then Naruto showed up as only he could," Kakashi paused a sad smile forming under his mask. "After his entrance Naruto entered Mirror Prison and the two of them became trapped. During this time I was in a battle with Zabuza and was and was unable to assist them. Zubuza then thickened the mist and I lost track of them."

"Then what happened?" the Hokage urged.

"This comes from Sasuke," Kakashi continued, "The two of them were trapped and were losing badly. Naruto after creating several waves of Kage Bushin was beginning to tire. And at this point Sasuke was able to activate the Sharingan but that did not help. He was not fast enough to be able to dodge the senbon needles Haku was hurling at them." Another brief pause, "Haku then targeted Naruto alone and drew Sasuke towards Naruto hitting him with the needles in pressure point places making him appear to have died."

"And you don't know what happened after that," the Hokage guessed.

"No, I know," Kakashi said.

"Then continue."

"I was still fighting Zabuza when a felt a sudden surge of Chakra…"

Naruto knelt down as Sasuke's eyes closed and his breathing stopped. "S…Sasuke?" he asked. When he got no response Naruto felt unrestrained aguish, grief and rage. Seeing his friend lying there lifeless caused an unimaginable level of Chakra to irrupt from his body.

Further down on the bridge Kakashi paused in his fight against Zabuza, "OH NO!" he thought, "The Fourth's seal, it's breaking!" After an intense few seconds Kakashi thought again, "No not yet, but it's close and unless I end this soon it will break." Reaching into his vest Kakashi pulled out his dog summoning scroll and announced, "I'm sorry I have to end this so soon Zabuza! But I can't let this fight continue." Gathering the blood from the wounds Zabuza had given him Kakashi performed the hand seals required to summon his nin dogs.

After he performed the seals and slammed his hand unto the ground he noticed that the Chakra Naruto was producing suddenly disappeared. "What happened?" Kakashi thought, "One moment he seems to be using the Kyuubi and then the Chakra is suddenly gone. No matter I have to end this now." Just as his dogs found and capture the Missing-nin Kakashi then begins the seals for his most powerful jutsu, "LIGHTING EGDE!" He begins to dash to the immobilized Zabuza when the screech of the female member of his team stops him.

"NARUTO!"

A few moments earlier back at the fight between Naruto and Haku, Naruto is about to finish off Haku when the mask breaks. Naruto is brought out of his rage when he sees the familiar face of the girl-like-boy he met in the forest. "Why did you stop?" Haku asked, "You had the advantage you should have killed me."

"But…but why?" Naruto demands gesturing to Sasuke.

"To protect my precious person," Haku answers.

Naruto is about to respond when he catches a glint rushing towards them. Acting on pure instinct he pushes Haku out of the way and is impaled on an arrow that was shot from further down the bridge.

Standing in front of Tanzuna, Sakura notices that the fog has become a little less thick and begins to search for her teammates. While searching she catches a glint of an object traveling and follows its path until she sees Naruto push the boy that he and Sasuke were fighting and take a hit from an arrow. "NARUTO!"

Haku cannot believe his eyes, the boy he was fighting pushed him out of the way took an arrow for him. The boy drops to the ground, the arrow pierced the middle of his back. A part of him knew that it was a fatal wound, but that did not resistor as the boy began to stand the stumbled to the edge of the bridge and fell off.

"I turned just as Naruto fell and saw Haku turn to the source of the arrow," Kakashi explained. "Zabuza and I both followed Haku's gaze to a large group of men holding various weapons. After an exchange of words the men attacked Haku and he fought back. Zabuza broke free and rushed to Haku and I pursued. By the time I got there he joined the battle and soon the men were all killed or driven off when the village citizens showed up. After that Sasuke revived and then Haku and Zabuza left. I did not feel the need to pursue them any longer. They were only our enemy because Gatto paid them." The Hokage nodded in understanding, "After the battle the entire village helped us search for Naruto's body. We searched for four days but we found no trace."

"Thank you Kakashi," the Hokage said. "You may leave now, tell your team that the funeral will be in one week's time."

"Yes Hokage-sama."

A week later those that were to attend Naruto's funeral gathered. A total of six people, including the remaining members of Team Seven, the Hokage, Iruka-sensei, and surprisingly Hyuuga Hinata, showed to pay their respects to the Kyuubi container. While the lack people confused the gennins, the three adults were disgusted that so few people showed. Shaking his head the Hokage stepped forward, "I guess this is all that are going to show up." He paused to collect himself and began again, "We are here to pay our last respects to a shinobi of Kohona. As all of us know Naruto had one dream, to become the Hokage." He paused again noticing the tears from the gennins and sorrow of the two other men, "I believe he died living up to that dream. He sacrificed himself for others, that is the true mark a someone great, some that would be worthy of the title." The Hokage stepped up to the memorial picture and placed a white rose next to it.

The next that followed was Iruka-sensei, the one that best knew the boy. He place his white rose along side the Hokage's and spoke, "I hope you find the peace and friendship in the next life that you could not find in this one." He stepped back to let the next come forward.

Sakura was next, she placed the third white rose next to the picture. "I'm sorry I didn't treat you better Naruto. If I knew this was going to happen I would have gotten to know you better maybe even let you have taken me out on a date. I hope you can forgive me for any pain I caused you." She backed away with a fresh set of tears.

Kakashi was next and placed his flower, all he said was, "I'm sorry," and left.

Sasuke came next, though he did not have a flower he did have a set of custom made shuriken, "Thanks for trying to be my friend after my family died. And I'm sorry."

The last to come up was Hinata, unlike the rest she carried a red rose and placed it on next to the others. Through her sobs she said, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun I wish I could have told you how much you meant to me. I promise to never give up just like you."

After everyone else left the Hokage approached Kakashi, "I will have to place your team on the reserve list until another can fill Naruto's spot."

Kakashi nodded, "Just don't let it be too soon, they need time." The Hokage nodded. "By the way where's your grandson?"

"He's still not feeling well after hearing the news," the Hokage answered. "The hole village should have been here morning, not celebrating." The Hokage frowned once again. Kakashi nodded in agreement and the two left.

Several days travel away from Kohona just outside of Wave Country's border a man wearing a black cape, with blond hair and his eyes are closed moves through a small forest near the ocean. The way he moves makes it seem like he is not even touching the ground. He enters a small cave on a mountainside. When he enters he comes across a boy lying on straw, covered with blacks with small pieces of parchment hovering around him.

The boy lying on straw has blond hair and whisker like marks on his cheeks. The man with closed eyes comes to a sudden stop and speaks, "You are an interesting boy."

The boy stirs for a moment and his eyes begin to open. "W…Where a…am I?" the boy's voice is horse, from his long rest.

"You are far from your home," the black caped man answers.

"Who are you?" the boy asks.

"You may call me Darkness."

"I…I'm Uzu…maki Nar…uto," he barely gets out before falling back into unconsciousness.

Darkness moves closer and opens his cape the pieces of parchment fly into it and he shuts it again. "Sleep well Uzumaki Naruto, you have a long journey coming soon."

The next day Naruto wakes fully healed though still tire. Looking around the cave his eyes come across a man standing to his side wearing a black cape. Naruto feels he knows this man and thinks for a moment, "Darkness right?"

"Yes Uzumaki Naruto," Darkness answers. "The Youma Kyuubi gives you fast healing."

Naruto freezes, "H…how do you know about Kyuubi?" he manages to squeeze out.

"I could sense it when I found you," Darkness responses. Naruto tries to stand but Darkness interrupts him, "You are still weak should not try to stand yet."

Naruto looks at Darkness for a moment and notices that his eyes are closed, "Hey how did you know I was trying to stand if your eyes are closed?" Darkness does not respond making Naruto angry, "HEY ANSWER ME!" still nothing. "OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

"As you wish," Darkness slowly opens his eyes.

Naruto becomes shocked when he sees nothing but blackness as Darkness opens his eyes. It takes several minutes for Naruto to find his voice again, "Who, what are you?"

"An observer and to some a teacher," Darkness replies.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Not much had changed About Konoha since that fateful mission when Gennin Team Seven lost their first third teammate. The only things that changed were that people grew older and the occasional personality change from a few select group of people that were close to Kyuubi's prison. The ones that changed the most were his teammates and only other gennin that came to his funeral.

After the funeral Sasuke through himself into his training. After that day when he said good-bye to his teammate he vowed he would never lose another. During the team's time on the reserve list he would spend all his time training his body and developing his Sharingan. Within five months after he first activated it he had developed his eyes to same level of Kakashi. Many praised him for his accomplishments but he ignored them. He pretty much cut himself off from everyone except his teammate Sakura and teacher Kakashi. And though he did not become a chunin until a year after many of the rest of the nine that graduated with him, his skills had already become the talk of the entire village. Because Team Seven was on the reserve list they were still able to go missions and it was there he truly proved his worth. Every mission he went on was a success and every mission would come back with no casualties. After a new third member of Team Seven was finally selected from the next year's graduating class they were permitted to enter the chunin exam. He easily passed the requirements to be promoted and only after six months of being a chunin Sasuke became an Anbu. And then six months after that he became an Anbu Captain. But perhaps the greatest change to his personality was his humility. Before the fateful mission he had been somewhat arrogant to those around him and if asked how he was so strong he would give them a look that said "Because I am." Now whenever he was asked he would simply answer, "I'm just fulfilling a promise."

Sasuke's teammate Sakura had also changed greatly. Ever since she became a gennin Sakura had doubt about her abilities. She had perfect control but that was about it. Ever since the time Naruto was killed she decided to do what he did, take the skill she was worst at and make it her strength. Because she lacked stamina she trained tirelessly with the self-proclaimed eternal rival of Hatake Kakashi, Gai-sensei, as he liked to be called. With Gai's help Sakura was able to increase her stamina dramatically. She still kept her perfect control and was able to incorporate it into her new stamina. With this she became as much known for her raw physical power as well as her brains. It was said that if Sakura and the Green Beast, Gai's protégé Rock Lee, were to ever fight neither would win. While Lee had the speed, Sakura had the power. Fortunately this theory was never tested. Using her strength Sakura was able to pass the chunin exam at the same time as her teammate Sasuke. Though she did not immediately go higher in rank about year after she became a jounin, one of the youngest in Konoha history. She has yet to take a gennin team saying she is not yet ready for that yet. Her personal life also took a change after Naruto died. She no longer solely went after Sasuke, though she still has feelings for him, she has opened up to many of those around her. Rock Lee especially, from the first time she met him she thought he was somewhat like Naruto.

The one who changed the most was Hinata. She took her promise to the loudmouth to heart and never gave up. The first change came in her fighting, she stopped being so afraid of her opponents that she was finally able to show that she was a very capable fighter. In first chunin exam she ended up facing her elder cousin Neji in the final matches. And though she lost she should exceptional skill and intelligence in the fight, earning the respect of her Father and sister who were watching in the stands and the respect of her cousin as well. Because of the skill she showed Hinata was promoted to chunin. From there she found her real calling as a medic. She had always been good at making healing creams and with her byakugen she became quite skilled at medical jutsus. And later she surprised everyone by learning how to combine medical taijutsu with Gentle Fist. Now it said that if she were to fight her cousin again the fight would be very different. The biggest change was her personality. Before she was timid and shy to a fault, now however she was friendly and personable, making her one of the most popular medics at the hospital.

The three that changed the least were the adults that attended the funeral. The Hokage was still the kind yet strong leader with a bit a perverted side, which is why he constantly loses to his grandson's Sexy no Jutsu. Kakashi was still the lazy, though less late, jounin as before. And Iruka was still a chunin instructor at the Academy, though now he takes extra time to help those who are considered 'dead last.'

Currently there is a meeting-taking place at Ichiruka Ramen stand. Ever since the passing the three former gennin would come here every so often and have some Ramen in honor of their fallen friend. "So Hinata," Sakura began, "How's the hospital?"

"Busy," Hinata replies, "Sasuke's squad had some rather heavy injuries from their mission a couple of days ago." She's looks over to Sasuke and gently throws a bottle to him. "Here this is a bit better than the stuff they gave you at the hospital."

"Thanks," Sasuke says then continues to eat his Ramen. "How have you been Sakura?"

"Bored lately," she sighs, "Not much to do, haven't been any descent missions lately. Although training with Lee-san is always entertaining." The others smile knowing what she means after having met the thick-browed teenager. Conversation continues to be light until each has eaten their fill and goes their separate ways. All enjoying their friendship that should not have come in the way it did.

A couple of days later a stranger wearing a deep red and black outfit comes to the main gates of Konoha. This figure is a little over one hundred sixty-five centimeters (five and a half feet) in height. He wears a mask that covers the lower half of his face and a hood to hide the rest. If one were to look into his eyes they would see a set of deep blue eyes with slightly vertical slits. Though he moves at a casual pace it is easy for the trained eye to know he is never off guard. When he finally arrives the gates the guards move to stop him. Not wanting to cause trouble the stranger stops and lets the guards come to him.

"What is your business here?" the head guard asks.

"Just visiting some old friends," the person responds in a male voice.

"Let me see some I.D." the guard says.

"Sorry I don't have any," the man says. "I haven't been here for a few years and my I.D. expired."

"Then I'm afraid you will have to see the administration office to get in renewed," the guard responds. "And you will have to escorted all the way."

"I understand," the man says. "If it is not to much trouble might I be able to see the Hokage as well?"

The request puts the guard on edge for a moment, "That will be up to him. Hey Shikamaru, Chouji get your lazy buts over here!" Two people with chunin vests come closer. The stranger glances at them for a moment then turns back to the head guard.

"What do you want?" asks the lazy chunin.

"I need you and the Meat Tank to escort this guy to the administration office."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said, "Fine lets go."

After a few minutes walking Chouji speaks to Shikamaru, "Hey Shikamaru does this guy seem familiar to you?"

"Maybe," Shikamaru glances back at the stranger. Earlier he noticed he had deep blue eyes and that seemed to cause recognition, but he just could not remember from where. "We could have seen him as kids. He does appear to be about our age."

Chouji now even more curious turns back and asks, "Hey have we met before?"

"Yes," the stranger answers, "When we were younger. I was alone a lot so I don't think you'd remember me."

Shikamaru now intrigued turns back and asks, "What's your name?"

"My name really doesn't matter," the stranger responds, he begins to move faster and moves past them causing the two to speed up to catch him. The rest of the way is nothing but silence, the two chunins wondering whom this person was.

Once they arrived at the administration office the stranger spoke again, "Do you think the Hokage will see me?"

"That will be up to him," Chouji answered.

"We'll take you to him first," Shikamaru added. "He can get your I.D. reinstated if he is willing to see you; it will be less troublesome for us." The stranger nodded and the three proceeded into the building.

After a few minutes of walking they came upon the office of the Hokage and were stopped by two jounin guards. "What is your purpose here?" the sickly looking one asks.

"Hey Hayate this guy wants to see the Hokage and get his I.D. reinstated," Shikamaru answers.

The other jounin gives the stranger a glance and asks, "What's his name?"

"He didn't give it, Genma," Chouji responds.

"Then he can't see the Hokage," Genma replies.

Inside his office the Hokage is taking a quick break to smoke his pipe. There has not been any real activity lately so his workload is light. He decided to take a break since there was no rush and went out to his balcony to gaze at Hokage Monument. His gaze rests on the last one for a minute and he sighs, "It's been a little over two years since your legacy has died Fourth. I'm sorry I didn't protect him better." After his apology he makes his way back inside.

The Third is about to get back to work when he senses something peculiar outside his door. He waits a few moments and hears some people talking. Relenting to his curiosity the Hokage goes to open the door.

Outside in the hallway the two chunins and stranger are about to leave when the door opens and the Hokage comes out, "What is going on out here?"

"We are sorry for the commotion Hokage-sama," Genma replies. "But this stranger wanted to see you, he did not give his name so we sent him away."

The Hokage looks at the person in the deep red and black outfit. For some reason he seems to recognize the person. "Send him in," he finally replies, "I will see what he has to say."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Genma replies. He and Hayate stand aside and the stranger passes through.

Once the door closes the Hokage faces the stranger and asks, "So who are you and why did you want to see me?"

The stranger begins to remove his mask and hood. The first things the Third noticed were the deep blue eyes the stranger had. His eyes widened a little at the familiarity of the eyes but practically jumped out of his head when the stranger revealed blond hair on his head and three whisker marks on each cheek. "Well I wanted to see if you would let me back into the village and I can guess you already know who I am, Old Man."

"Na…Naruto?" the Hokage asked, "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Old Man. It's me," Naruto responds. "Did you miss me?"

Joy was the first thing that came to the Third's mind when the teenager in front of him answered the affirmative. One of his greatest regrets, not being able to protect the legacy of the Forth, had just come back into his life. It was almost too good to be true, and then the more cautious side of his mind told him that this could be a trick by one of his enemies. Calming down he asked, "How do I know it's really you?"

Naruto sighed, "Do you really want me to do the technique I taught your grandson?"

The Hokage at first was surprised, then paled, and finally smiled at the thought of Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu. "No I don't think that will be necessary." He took a long look at the teenager before him and saw many of the changes. He wore a dark red pants with black trim, a tight shirt that was the reverse of his pants. A black cape that had the hood he removed earlier. His gaze traveled down to his hands and he saw Naruto now wore fingerless gloves. When he looked at the fingers he saw they were now more claw-like, stunned for a moment he looked back to his face and noticed for the first time that Naruto's eyes had slightly elongated pupils making them look somewhat fox-like. Surprise was on the old man's face when he asked, "What happened to you?"

Naruto sighed and sat in a near by chair, "A lot, and I'll tell you about it but first could you call my old friends here I think it will be easier if I tell everyone at once."

"Of coarse," The Hokage called for the two outside his door. When they answered he said, "Find Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Iruka, and Hinata and bring them here immediately." The two guards bowed and went left.

"Hinata?" Naruto thought, "That shy girl from the Academy. I guess she cared about me more than I thought."

"It should only take a few minutes."

A few minutes latter five people that had come to know each other rather well met up once again outside the Hokage's office. "So he called you here as well," Kakashi said still reading his Icha Icha Paradise book.

"Do you think some one vandalized Naruto's grave again?" Hinata asked in a disgusted voice.

"Possibly," Sasuke answers with just as much distaste. "I really wish they would give it a rest and leave him in peace." The others nodded in agreement as they entered the office.

When they went inside they were not expecting the Hokage's face to have a smile. Their previous theory was obviously not correct. "Good, you made good time. There is someone here who wishes to say hello."

A person that went previously unnoticed before stood up from the chair. When he did five gasps were heard at once, "Hey guys, it's good to see you again."

The five were too stunned to make any kind of motion. The Hokage seeing this began to answer the questions that were going through everyone's minds. "Yes this is Naruto. I questioned him myself. He just arrived a few minutes ago. And said he would say what happened to him once you arrived." The Hokage's answers seemed to bring everyone around and they looked at Naruto in anticipation.

"First I have to ask do they," gesturing to Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata, "Know about what happened when I was a baby?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered, "We told them after your…funeral."

"Funeral?" Naruto asks, he looks at their faces to see the sadness and decides to drop it. "Good because first I should tell you it's gone. That's the reason for the claws and eyes." For the first time the five saw Naruto's hands and eyes and understanding passed through their minds. "First let me explain how I survived." He paused for a minute then continued, "After I fell off the bridge I was rescued by a being named Darkness. I say being because the one that rescued me was not human nor demon, but something else. Even know now I don't know what he is, just that he has been alive for a very long time."

"How long?" the Hokage interrupts, the name Darkness triggers something in his memory.

"Longer than the shinobi countries have been in existence," Naruto answered. "Anyway, he said that even with his help the only reason I survived the fall, wounds and drowning was because of Kyuubi. After I was healed I tried to return but Darkness would not let me. He took west by some kind of teleportation to some ruins of an ancient civilization. There he trained for two years. It was only because of the Kyuubi's power that I was able to complete the training in two years. After my training was complete Darkness freed the Kyuubi." Several gasps were heard interrupting Naruto. He looked at their horrified faces and said, "Relax Darkness sent it back to the demon world and made sure it could never come back."

"Then what about your changes?" Kakashi asked.

"Well these happened because of the power that I did absorb," Naruto answered. "And they became permanent even after the Kyuubi left. I still retain some of its power, like rapid healing."

"So what did this Darkness teach you?" Sasuke asked.

"Well you probably wouldn't know even if I told you," Naruto said, "It was a lost art. But I will tell you it's quite powerful."

Silence hung in the air for several minutes until the Hokage spoke up, "You may just get an opportunity to show us Naruto." Everyone turned to look at him, "When I reinstate your shinobi status you will still be a gennin but I have a feeling that your skills are well beyond that level. So I must see your skills in order to reassess your level."

Naruto gave his fox-like grin that everyone in the room had missed, "Sure Old Man, when will it take place?"

"It will take me about a week's time before I can put everything together," the Hokage answered, "But I will go ahead and reinstate you."

"It won't take long after that for word to spread about Naruto," Sasuke spoke up.

"That can't be helped," Kakashi said.

"But surely there's something you can do…" Iruka began but was interrupted.

"Its all right Iruka-sensei," Naruto cuts him off, "The village will learn that I am not Kyuubi eventually. So there's no need for me to hide." The others were surprised at Naruto's calm answer.

"Well then why don't you get yourself reacquainted with the village while I get back to work," the Hokage suggested. "And the rest of you have the next few days off."

Naruto smiled once again and said, "Ichiruka Ramen here I come!" The others laughed glad to see their friend is back had not changed too much.

The next day word had already spread about the return of the Kyuubi vessel. While a very few were glad most loathed idea about Naruto's return. It was a good thing no one knew where he was staying at; otherwise they may have done something that everyone would regret. When they could not find Naruto, several villagers approached the Hokage demanding to know where Naruto was. The Hokage silenced them by saying that the law was still in affect and anyone caught even mentioning the Naruto being the Kyuubi would be punished severely.

Naruto was currently at Team Seven's old meeting spot reminiscing about old times. He had to laugh at himself for the way he acted back then. He brought his head up and said, "You know back then I really was a dead-last and an idiot. You two were right about me."

"Well not everything," Sakura said coming up behind. "We're glad you're back Naruto."

"It took a shorter amount of time for word to spread than I thought," Sasuke greeted.

Naruto just shrugged, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Hokage-sama says your evaluation will be in five days time," Sasuke said.

"Good that will give a chance to train a little," Naruto smiled.

"Would you like some help?" Sakura asked.

"Nope," Naruto smiles even more, "Don't want to give anyone any heads-up until the day." He turned to look and saw some disappointment on their faces. "Hey don't worry about it, all I want to do is retain my title as the Most Surprising Ninja in Konoha," he joked.

The others chuckled in response. "Fine we'll leave you be for now, but just remember I'm going to be one of you opponents," Sasuke says. "I want to personally see just how strong you've gotten."

"Don't worry, I've gotten stronger than even you can handle," Naruto boasts.

Sakura smiles at the renewed rivalry, "Well we'll leave you alone then. But don't be surprised if Hinata pays you a visit soon."

"Um ok Sakura-chan," Naruto says confused. His two former teammates smile at his clueless expression and leave.

Naruto continued to train the rest of the day. He currently has several practice logs set up around him. He took a shoulder width stance. Then slowly brought his right leg up then while leaning forward and pulling the raised leg back. After a brief pause he swung his leg and disappeared from sight. A second latter he reappeared in his original stance then relaxed. Another few more seconds passed and the practice logs suddenly crumbled. If anyone was watching they would have wondered just what he had done. He smiled at the results and decided to take a break. Taking a rest under a tree and noticed that someone was about to enter the area. Turning in that direction he saw, true to Sakura's prediction, Hinata coming to visit him.

When she saw Naruto sitting under a tree Hinata went over to sit next to him. After a brief period of silence Hinata began, "Naruto-kun there is something I want to tell you."

"Yes Hinata was is it?" Naruto asked. He had been curious about her since he found out she had also attended his funeral two years ago.

"When we were at the Academy, no even before then, he used to watch you and I really admired you. And when I thought you were dead I regretted never telling you before."

Naruto gave her a soft smile, "Thank you for caring Hinata, not many people did."

Hinata blushed a little bit starting to feel like her younger self again, "I…I don't want to…miss…" she began to trail off at the end.

Fortunately Naruto had become more observant than when he was younger and caught on to what she was trying to say. "Hey Hinata-chan would you like to go and get something to eat," Naruto said. Hinata was surprised but also relieved and glad at Naruto's offer and simply nodded in compliance. "Good then you can tell me what you've been up to since I've been away." Hinata nodded again and the two left to enjoy dinner together.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

After the first day back Naruto spent most of his time training in secret. No one was able to see what the blond was doing because no matter who would try and spy on him he would be seen simply sitting under a tree. Many suspected that he was able to sense anyone that approached. This alone gave rise to the ever-growing stories of the dead gennin/kyuubi vessel returning to life and the village.

A day before the evaluation of Naruto's skills the rumors had come to a fever pitch. Many were speaking about their anticipation some for and some against. Those that knew about Kyuubi were scared that of the idea of the it coming out, because they were not told it was gone. Those that were told, a select number of Anbu and Jounin, were curious as to see how much stronger the teenager had become without the Demon Fox. Those around Naruto's age and thus did not know about Kyuubi in the first place wanted to see just what had changed about him, especially Shikamaru and Chouji once they learned it was Naruto they escorted to the Hokage. Many of those that knew Naruto were still somewhat guilty that they decided to train or were too lazy to attend his funeral, more so, after they found out so few people actually attended. But the ones that were in the most anticipation were: Kakashi, Iruka, Hinata Sasuke, Sakura and the Hokage. The Hokage the most, he was still bothered by the name of Naruto's teacher while he was away.

Naruto had decided to take the day off before the evaluation to rest. Although he was confident in his skill, the only person he knew he would be facing was Sasuke. He did not know what it would entice nor would he know for how long. So rather than taking chances, he decided to skip his training and not run the risk of being to tired tomorrow. Naruto had thought that he would spend time with his friends on the last day. They were rather eager to join him because, although, he would not divulge any of his style it was kind of fun to for them to try to get some information; kind of like a running joke for them.

"So you think your training actually helped you, Dobe," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Better believe it, Bastard," Naruto returned the smirk. The two had reverted to the old nicknames they had when they were still on the same team. Only this time they were not meant as insults, just a kind of brotherly teasing. "And no I'm not going to tell you anything about it."

"Ah, come on Naruto," Sakura complained, "Just a hint."

"Please Naruto-kun," Hinata joined in, "We are all curious about what you've been doing."

Naruto sighed, if it had been anyone else, or even just one of them, Naruto would have just denied the request. Because it was Sakura and Hinata he could not refuse. His old feelings for Sakura and his growing affection for Hinata made it impossible for him to resist their combined probing. "Fine but only if you give me a little heads up on the evaluation."

"Deal," Sasuke said, "Although I can only tell you about my part."

"Fine," Naruto agreed, "But you first!"

"My part with involve a showing of combat skills," Sasuke told, "And there will be at least two other opponents besides me and I won't tell you who they are. Don't want to give you too much warning."

"Alright," Naruto said, "I'll tell you this, I use my feet and none of my skills can be copied. So you won't be able to counter my style, Sasuke."

This had everyone intrigued. His statement about using his feet implied that he was now based in Taijutsu where as before he showed an affinity to high-level Ninjutsu, his ability to use Kage Bushin as a gennin was the prime example. And the statement of his skills not being able to be copied intrigued them as well. So far the only jutsus that the Sharingen could not copy were bloodline limits. But what really got Sasuke's attention was Naruto's claim that he could not counter it. Sasuke had developed a name for himself by using the Sharingen to copy and counter another's jutsus. Unlike Kakashi however, he would not copy and use the same technique, he would use a jutsu that would completely neutralized the other, thus earning him the name the 'Counter Ninja.' "Don't be so sure of that Dobe," Sasuke said, "I didn't get my name for nothing."

"We'll see Bastard," Naruto responded, then muttered, "And I didn't get mine for nothing either."

"What was that last part Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked being the only one close enough to hear the mutter.

"What? Oh nothing Hinata-chan," Naruto answered, "I just said it's getting late and I should get some rest."

"Well see you tomorrow then," Sakura said for the group. After Naruto left Sakura asked, "Do you think what Naruto said was true?"

"Well the old Naruto was boastful and had a huge tendency to exaggerate," Sasuke answered. "But the Naruto we've gotten to know over the last couple of days doesn't seem to exaggerate. The fact that no one has been able to sneak up on him is a clear indication of his improvement."

"So you're saying you believe him Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"What I'm saying is that I and his other opponents should be on out toes when we fight him," Sasuke said.

"So are his other opponents?" Hinata asked.

"The one's I know for sure will be Rock Lee and Kurenai," Sasuke said.

"So they're going to test all aspects, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, then," Sakura concluded. "But Lee-san never mentioned anything about taking place in the evaluation."

"The others were decided yesterday," Sasuke said. "I was the only one to volunteer. Although Kakashi did say that if I had not done so he would have."

"You said that there would be at least two others," Hinata said, "Does that mean that others may come in?"

"That is actually up to the Hokage," Sasuke said. "I was in on the meeting about the combat test and the Hokage said that it may take more than just the three of us to get a real idea about how strong Naruto has become." After a pause he added, "I think he knows more than he is letting on, or at least suspects more."

Naruto sat on his bed in his new apartment. He had been going over what he had found out from Sasuke just a couple of hours ago. "From what Sasuke told me he will be in the combat part," he thought. "That would mean that they will probably be testing different skills. And that would mean they would test Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. None of them should be a problem, especially Taijutsu and Genjutsu. I doubt there will be anyone with illusions stronger than the ones Darkness was able to make. Still I should not underestimate any of them." Naruto got up from his bed and looked out his window and gazed at the forest outside. His apartment was on the side of a building that faced away from the Hokage Monument, and although he missed seeing their faces he was just as glad he could see the forest, he always liked being in the forests of Konoha when he was a child. "Still that's not what worries me," Naruto continued thinking, "They will also probably test my knowledge as well. And though Darkness forced me to use my head more, I don't really know much about information. I guess I should have gone to the library and studied as well as trained. Oh well to late now, might as well get some sleep." With that thought Naruto returned to his bed to get some sleep, still eager about the next day.

The next day Naruto made his way to the Homage's office. He had been told to go there first for the first series of tests. He assumed that they would test his knowledge first. And when he entered the room and when he saw a group of Jounin instructors as well as the Hokage and Iruka, he figured he assumed correctly. The Hokage gestured for Naruto to take the seat in front of the jounins and sat down. As soon as he sat, manacles immediately slapped onto his wrists, ankles and even around his throat. "Hey! What's going on?" Naruto demanded.

"Shut up!" a heavily scarred Jounin ordered, "You really think the Hokage and the rest of us were fooled by you Demon!"

"What are you…" Naruto was silenced by punch to the face by the scared Jounin.

"Now you will tell us what really happened!" the scared one demanded.

Naruto glanced around the room and noticed the placid looks of their faces. As he came to Iruka and the Hokage he saw neutral looks on their faces but their eyes held a covered, but still noticeable to him, look of sympathy and compassion. "They're testing my resistance to interrogation," he thought. "Well then," he then took a deep breath and spoke out loud, "You won't get anything from me." The calmness of his voice shocked many of the instructors in the room. But the one in front of him with the scars just smiled.

"Then I guess it's the fun way," he said. Several in the room internally cringed for they knew what was about to happen. The scared interrogator began a series of hand seals and soon after he was finished Naruto could feel an assault on his mind.

Naruto knew he was under an illusion that was made to break him will within moments of its beginning. Inwardly Naruto was struggling to maintain his focus, "Danm, this guy could make Darkness sweat. If that's even possible that is." Outwardly Naruto kept his neutral face, and the only indication that he was exerting anything was the sweat forming on his head. This alone impressed many in the room, including the interrogator.

"It's been ten minutes and he's only sweating," The scarred one thought. "Either he really is the demon or his mental strength is extraordinary."

The Hokage had similar thoughts to the interrogator and after fifteen minutes he had seen enough, "That's enough Ibiki." The Jounin turned to the Hokage, "If he can last this long then he has proven enough for me." The others agreed, they knew that there were few in this room that could last as long as Naruto did.

The manacles released and Naruto rubbed his wrists and neck. "So what's next?" he asked.

"A test of knowledge Naruto," Iruka answered. As he brought out a test sheet and handed it to him. "You'll have two hours to complete the test."

Naruto looked down at the test and glanced around the room, "Damn, can't even cheat to get the answers. I'm the only one here taking the test and none of the instructors have anything or are saying anything." Naruto then began to answer the questions as best he could.

After the two hours were up his test was collected. The instructors looked over his test and some began to snicker at some of his answers. Naruto even heard the Hokage say, "His knowledge is only a little bit higher than when her was at the Academy."

This got Naruto angry for a minute and muttered, "It's not like I could study out in the middle of no-where." The Hokage caught this and smirked at the comment.

"Now we'll test you planning ability," the Hokage announced. He looked around the room, "Where is he?" The others looked around and shrugged indicating they didn't know. "Someone go get Shikamaru!" the Hokage ordered.

Five minutes latter the chunin in question arrived, "Why do I have to do this?"

"Because you were ordered too!" the one that went to retrieve him said.

"Fine lets get this over with," Shikamaru said. He walked over to Naruto and asked, "Do you know how to shoji?"

"Actually, yes," Naruto said. That was one of the games Darkness had him play to learn strategy.

Shikamaru placed a shoji board on the desk and the two began to play. For the first few moves Shikamaru had a bored look on his face. But after about the sixth move he looked at the board then at Naruto. He then became interested, "You're no too bad." That was when the game became more active. Each player moving and taking pieces quickly, each having to readjust their moves to counter the other.

Finally after about ten minutes Naruto stopped, "Danm I can't win, you'll get me in seven moves."

Shikamaru smiled, "Actually six, but you're pretty good I'd like to play you again."

"Sure why not," Naruto agreed smiling as well.

"Well that concludes this part of the exam," the Hokage said. He was impressed at Naruto's skill in strategy and tactics. Even he would have trouble against Shikamaru, "We will now proceed to the stadium for the test in combat skills."

Naruto smiled in anticipation, "Good cause this is what I've been waiting for."

Once everyone had gathered at the stadium Naruto was surprised to see the amount of people there. Although this was not open to the civilians, it was open to any shinobi that could attend. And by the looks of things, it appeared that nearly half the shinobi of all ranks in the village showed to watch the matches. "Guess their expecting a show, and they're about to get one."

The referee for the matches turned out to be Hinata's cousin Neji. Naruto had met him the third night after Naruto walked her home. Neji approached Naruto and said, "Now we'll see if you're worthy of Hinata-sama." Naruto just gave him a confident grin in response. "The first match will be between Yuuhi Kurenai and Uzumaki Naruto." As Neji announced this a red eyed mid-twenty year old woman entered the stadium.

In the stands Sakura was watching with her Hinata, Sasuke and Rock Lee, "This will be a good indication of how well Naruto does against illusions in combat."

"Be should do well," Sasuke said, "I heard some of the Jounins saying he lasted fifteen minutes against Ibuki."

"Yosh! I'm looking forward to facing him!" Rock Lee said pumping his fist.

Back at the stadium Naruto went into a defensive stance. He was not aware of the kind of jutsus Kurenia was capable of, so he decided to play it safe for now. The two fighters gazed at each other until Kurenai started to do a fast series of hand-seals. Naruto prepared for anything, he then noticed an assault on his mind, "Genjutsu." Next thing Naruto knew he was somehow incased in huge boulder with Kurenai sticking out above him. Naruto quickly analyzed the illusion, "I can feel the stone and see it, but I can't hear her moving against it nor can I smell the rock. That means it assaults the sense of touch and sight. Can't do much about the sense of touch but I can at least take care of the sight." Naruto closed his eyes and take away one sense being assaulted, "Now that's out of the way it'll be easier to break the illusion." Naruto then began to perform what Darkness had taught him in order to break illusions.

Kurenia watched as Naruto closed his eyes, "So he knows that it assaults his eyes, but does he know about touch too. And will he be able to break the illusion without hand seals?" Her question was answered as Naruto's body slowly began to glow green. The next thing anyone knew, the illusion was broken and Naruto was freed.

"Not bad," Naruto commented, "But I've got to end this now." Naruto then disappeared from sight and reappeared behind Kurenia, jumped and kicked her in the head knocking her out instantly.

"His speed is impressive," Sasuke commented.

"Yes," Rock agreed, "He will be fun to fight." With that the thick browed Chunin jumped down to the just after the medics carried off Kurenia.

Naruto gazed at his next opponent. He met him on the forth day after he arrived when he met up with Sakura. He had heard the stories of the Chunin that could not use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu and relied entirely on Taijutsu. Naruto knew that although he had yet to take the Jounin exam Rock Lee is probably at Jounin level. "If it was any other Chunin besides you I would feel insulted Lee."

"Thank you for the complement Naruto-kun," Lee said getting in to his stance. Naruto only responded by dropped into his stance as well. His stance was unfamiliar to Lee and that disturbed him because he thought he knew nearly all Taijutsu stances.

Up in the stands two people were just as disturbed but for the opposite reason. Gai thought that stance seemed familiar, he remembered reading about a stance that was similar in a book he once read. What Gai could not place was the name of the Taijutsu style or where it came from, but what he did remember was the book said that this was one of the strongest Taijutsu styles there was.

The other person that recognized the stance was the Hokage, "No," he whispered, "He couldn't know it. This has to be some variation, not the actual style."

"Did you want something Hokage-sama?" one of his attendants asked.

"What? Oh no I'm fine," the Hokage responded then thought, "If it is that style then Naruto has progressed farther than I first thought."

Back in the center of the stadium Neji announced the match, "Rock Lee vs. Uzumaki Naruto."

Lee wasted no time in charging in. His speed still amazed everyone in the stadium. But what amazed them more was the fact that Naruto was able to keep up. After a few exchanged blows, where Lee would used combinations of hands and feet Naruto would almost entirely use his feet to hit back. Lee jumped back and thought, "He's just as fast as I am."

Across from him Naruto was thinking, "He's fast, too fast I can barely keep up."

"Well Naruto-kun," Lee spoke up, "I guess I'll have to go all out." With that he jumped a safe distance a way and began to remove his weights. After tossing them aside and creating two good-sized craters, he began to jump up and down to get used to the change in weight.

Naruto stood watching and smiled, "Then I guess I'll have to do the same Lee." His statement confused everyone until Naruto take off his clothing only to reveal a second set underneath. Naruto took his clothes and threw them behind him making a crater that rivaled the ones Lee made. "Are you ready?"

Around the stadium those with Byakugan and Sharingans activated their eyes in anticipation of a high-speed match. Next to two of those people Sakura asked, "Do you think Lee-san will use Lotus against Naruto?"

"In all reality I doubt it," Sasuke answered, "Lotus requires the user to move fast enough to get through the opponent's guard. And if they have a similar amount of weight then their speed should be too close for it to be useful. The only way Lee could use Lotus were to use Extreme Lotus and the Hokage specifically told him not to use it." Sakura nodded and turned back to watch the match. With her training under Gai she would be one of the few people to be able to keep up without a Byakugan or Sharingan.

The two fighters charged each other at blinding speeds and met in the center. Those that could follow saw Naruto dive forward and sprung off his hands and kicked Lee in the gut. Lee flew back but was able to recover by performing a back flip and then punched Naruto as he came in close to score another kick. The punch connected and Naruto shot back but he did a backhand spring and caught Lee under the chin with his foot. Lee quickly recovered and threw his own leg out and caught Naruto in the stomach. The two flew back and landed now both with bruises on various parts of their body. After a brief moment to catch his breath Lee charged in once again, this time he jumped in the air and called, "Konoha Senpuu!" Making his body begin to rotate causing wind to from around his body.

"If you want to play it like that then take this!" Naruto said and dove to his hands and called "Chainsaw!" Naruto's body began to spin like Lee's only it was faster creating more force and knocking Lee back. Naruto came out of his technique and did not waist anytime for Lee to recover. He called out "Sword!" while performing a jump kick sending Lee into the wall.

Deactivating his Byakugan Neji said, "Winner Uzumaki Naruto." Several around the stadium were wondering where he had learned such a powerful Taijutsu style. Two others were wondering why they could not copy the techniques he used to finish off Lee.

"So he was telling the truth," Sasuke grinned, "I can't copy them. And from what I saw he didn't even need hand seals to perform them. What ever that is, it is very impressive."

After Lee was carried off everyone was eagerly anticipating the final match. Sasuke was considered one of the strongest in the village and Naruto had just shown he was as well. Sasuke made his way down to the center. When he got there he said, "Feel free to take a breather. I want you at your best."

Naruto smiled, "Thanks Lee was better than I thought. I didn't think I would need to use any of my techniques until you." Everyone waited about five minutes until Naruto said, "Ok I'm ready."

Neji did not even have a chance to announce the start of the match before Sasuke performed his hand seals and called out, "Katon: Karyuu Endan." A large dragon made of fire sped towards Naruto.

Naruto brought his leg up and called out, "Boomerang!" a wave of chakra came off his foot and dispersed the flame dragon. As soon as his foot landed Naruto thrust both hands out calling, "Haken!" a fist of wind came out and sped towards Susake.

With his Sharingan activated Sasuke was fast enough to anticipate the attack and performed, "Doton Doryuukehi!" Mud came out of his mouth just in time to form a wall and block the attack.

Unfortunately because of that Sasuke lost track of Naruto. Who charge in, jumped and called, "Sword!"

Luckily Sasuke was again quick enough to perform, "**Kawarimi no Jutsu." Naruto only hit a log that Sasuke was able to replace his body with.**

**After Naruto destroyed the log he searched the area for Sasuke. Sensing him in a tree to his right Naruto pulled his leg back and unleashed, "Boomerang!" the wave of chakra moved toward the tree and cut it in half but not before Sasuke escaped.**

**"These techniques are unbelievable," Sasuke thought. "I guess I have no choice but to use it." Just as he landed Sasuke said, "This has been fun Naruto but now I'll end it with a jutsu Kakashi taught me." Sasuke began the seals and called out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A large cloud of smoke formed and when it cleared there was large pure white dog larger than a good-sized building with Sasuke standing on it was revealed.**

Naruto was taken back by the sight, "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Kakashi taught me how to summon," Sasuke answered. "You've improved a lot Naruto but you can't win."

"We'll see!" Naruto dropped into another stance this time he was leaning forward slightly one hand at his waist the other bent at elbow in front of him. He began to speak in a low voice that sounded like mumbling to even the two closest people to him. As he was speaking a large amount of chakra began to explode from his body.

Up next to the Hokage one of his attendants asked, "Is he opening the gates!"

"No," the Hokage answered, "He is doing something entirely different." His gaze never left the fight. He saw Naruto's muscles begin to flex and expand as the amount of chakra released continued to increase.

On top of his summon Sasuke was watching as Naruto increased in power wondering if he knew how to open the Eight Celestial Gates as well. Soon the increase in chakra stopped and Naruto charged the summon. "Get out of the way!" he ordered to the dog. The dog complied and jumped into the air.

Naruto jumped as the dog did and knew he would miss with his attack, but because he knew he would be at a disadvantage if he pulled out now so he continued the attack. Shouting, "Rapier!" Naruto's body seemed to become surrounded by rotating flames that center at his extended foot. Although he missed the summon with the brunt of the attack he was able to clip and cause injury.

When Sasuke and the summon landed the dog said, "Sorry but that guy got my leg I can't fight any more." The summon disappeared leaving Sasuke alone.

Naruto landed soon after breathing heavily. He turned and saw Sasuke about to attack once again so he prepared to continue also. The two fighters where stopped however when the Third appeared in between them saying, "This match is over. To continue would be a danger to both parties. I hereby call it a draw." The crowd was stunned by the display of the two fighters and the sudden end. After a brief period of silence cheers went up for both participants. During the cheering both dropped to the ground still conscious but incredibly worn out. "Once you two recover come to my office and we will discuss what happened." The Hokage did not wait for an answer and disappeared. Soon after he left medics came and took both teenagers away.

A few hours later a group of several Jounins and Chunins gathered in the Hokage's office. When the last ones, Naruto and Sasuke, arrived the Hokage spoke. "First I would like to say congratulations on the evaluation Naruto. You have proven to have the skills needed to be at Jounin level."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Naruto responded. He felt that he should be formal because of the nature of the meeting.

"Now tell me the name of your fighting style," the Hokage ordered.

"Judging by your expression you already know," Naruto replied. "But for clarification it's called, Karuda Killing Style: Shadow Skill."

"I thought as much," the Hokage leaned back in his chair.

"What's so special about this 'Shadow Skill'?" a Jounin asked.

Naruto was about to answer but the Hokage beat him to it, "Shadow Skill was a lost form of fighting from a civilization to the west of the Shinobi Countries." The Hokage explained. "It was used by very few fighters in a city called Karuda. In this city fighters competed for a title known as a Savaar. With their Savaars, Karuda had over two thousand years of being undefeated in battle." The Hokage paused to let the information sink in.

During the silence a Chunin asked, "If they were so strong what happened to them?"

"I'll answer that," Naruto said. "My teacher Darkness told me that a natural disaster destroying Karuda forcing all its citizens to leave. He also told me that many of the jutsu principles the shinobi use can trace their origin to Karuda and its neighboring kingdoms."

"And who is Darkness?" another Jounin asked.

"Darkness is a being from another world that has been alive since before the fall of Karuda," the Hokage answered. "He would be the only person that could have taught Naruto Shadow Skill."

"How did you know that?" Naruto asks.

"The First Hokage once told me he met a being named Darkness," the Hokage answered. "Darkness told him about his history and the First told me. Now Naruto I have a question, have you mastered Shadow Skill?"

"I know all the techniques, but I haven't been able to master all them yet."

"Then what name does Darkness call you?" the Hokage asked.

"Ever since I performed the last technique he has been calling me, Shadow Claw," Naruto answered.

Author's note.

A few of the reviews have questioned Naruto's training meathod. I have planed to have his explain his traing in Chapter 4.

And to anyone who asks why is the third not dead. Well the entire attack on Konoha by Sound and Sand was put togther by Orichimaru. And he attacked for two purposes, one to get Sasuke with his curse seal and to kill the Third. He was unable to do this because Sasuke had not particpated in the exam and Orichimaru losy his chance for the curse seal and to kill the Third. Orichimaru will come into play later as well as the Akatsuki and Itachi.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

The Hokage sat in his office contemplating what just transpired less than an hour ago. "Naruto has become the inheritor of Shadow Skill," he thought. "If the legends about its strength are true then Naruto will become the strongest person in the village within the next few years." He sighed and lit his pipe, "And judging by the power he displayed earlier he may be at Kakashi's level, maybe even higher. But the question is what to do with him now?" He stood up and went to his window to gaze at the stone faces. "He is now a Jounin, but I doubt he is ready and willing to take on a Gennin team yet. One part of the test we did not cover was how well he would do on a team. If his ability to work in a unit has increased like that of his other skills, then he may make a gook Anbu. But if that is the case who to put him with? I'm sure Sasuke would be willing to take him as part of him team, but that may not be the best for either of them. Naruto needs to reintegrate with others and just being around people he was already close to would not help very much." He returned to his desk to finish his paperwork, "I will send him out on a couple of missions with other Jounin first and go from there."

The Hokage went back to work just a deep voice from his widow said, "I see the only thing you still do around here is paperwork, eh sensei."

The Hokage turned to the window and saw a large man with long spiky white hair, "Hello Jiraiya, I haven't seen you in about a year of so. What brings you here?"

"Well first," Jiraiya reaches in to his clothes and pulls out a book. "I've just completed my latest book and I came to give a special addition to my two best readers." He hands the book to the Hokage, who is blushing but still takes it anyway. "And second I have some information about our old friend."

The Hokage's quietly puts the book into his robes, "And what is he up to?"

Jiraiya moves and sits across the Hokage, "According to my sources he wants you in a grave and plans to put you there himself."

"Then we should expect an attack soon?" The Hokage asked.

"Not just yet," Jiraiya answers, "But it would be wise to begin preparations."

"How long before he comes?"

"Not for a couple of months," Jiraiya answered. "You're high on his list of priorities but not at the top." He stood up about to leave when the Hokage's voice stopped him.

"Before you leave I think you should know," the Hokage said, "He's still alive and back in the village."

Jiraiya paused turned and nodded, "I need to give Kakashi his copy. When I get back we'll talk."

"You'll find them both at Ichiruka having a celebration," the Hokage said as Jiraiya left.

Not far away Naruto was indeed celebrating his recent promotion to Jounin level. The people there were his friends, Rock Lee, Shikamaru and Konohamaru and his friends just back from a Gennin mission from outside the village. Konohamaru and his friends had heard about Naruto being alive the moment the walked into the village just a half hour ago and came straight here. When they saw him they nearly broke into tears hoping that their 'leader' was not just some figment of their imagination. After several minutes of several people convincing them he was not just their imagination they soon joined in the celebration.

"So Konohamaru you still being taught by that closet pervert?" Naruto asked in between mouthfuls of ramen.

"Ebisu-sensei is still teaching us," Konohamaru said. "And we're sorry we didn't…"

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said knowing what Konohamaru was about to say.

"So Naruto," Kakashi said behind his book, "Are you going to tell us why you're called 'Shadow Claw.'"

Everybody turned to Naruto in anticipation. Ever since the Hokage questioned him about his new title they became very curious. "Well there's not to much a reason behind it really," Naruto began, "Darkness said that the warriors of Karuda would be named for aspects that were unique to them. For me it was the fact that I mastered Shadow Skill and," he paused and held up his hands showing his claws, "my claws."

There was silence for a moment the Konohamaru shouted, "THAT'S IT?"

"Hey Kakashi-sensei got his name because he only copies others techniques with his Sharingan!" Naruto countered.

"Speaking of which," Sasuke jumps in, "Why couldn't the Sharingan copy the techniques?"

"The way it was explained to me," Naruto answered, "Was that unlike doing hand seal that require chakra to be molded outside the body for jutsus, the techniques of Shadow Skill require the molding of chakra inside the body."

"I did see an unusual pattern in your chakra when you were fighting Naruto-kun," Hinata added.

"And it requires the specific training Darkness gave me to learn to mold the chakra the proper way," Naruto continued.

"So what was the training like and could you teach me Shadow Skill Naruto-kun?" Rock Lee asked.

"Sorry Lee," Naruto replied, "But there can only be one master and one apprentice in Shadow Skill. Darkness made me promise only to teach it to one person and not to chose lightly." Everyone understood that once Naruto made a promise nothing in this world would get him to break it. "But the training…"

Three months after the Darkness brought Naruto to the fallen city of Karuda he began instructing him in Shadow Skill. The basic foundation of the style is to fight using primarily your feet. And for this Naruto was forced to develop his legs first. To accomplish this Darkness made him wear extremely heavy weights on his legs and did several exercises that would build his leg muscles. His morning workout would consist of running around the city ten times and instead of going around any debris that littered the ground, he was told to go over it by either jumping or walking up it. Then once his run was done he would do several kicks alternating each leg while standing on a five-meter tall pole that was no wider than his foot to also improve his balance. Once that was done he would do near countless squats. After he was done with his morning workout he would work on the technique that Darkness had should him for three hours. And in the late afternoon and early evening Naruto would work on his upper body. He needed a strong overall body to perform the techniques properly. But the exercises in the evening were geared more towards flexibility rather than strength. Finally when those exercises were finished Darkness would train his mind with advanced illusions and games of strategy and tactics.

Currently Naruto was practicing one of the lower level techniques of Shadow Skill. He had the basic principle down but was still having problems refining it so it had the proper power. Naruto was attempting destroy a boulder three times his size in one shot. So far all he was able to do was cause chips to break off. "Damn, what an I missing?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"You need to release the chakra just as your foot is fully extended," Darkness answered.

Naruto jumped back about a meter. Darkness had a bad habit of showing up out of nowhere rather often. And even though Naruto senses had increase because of Kyuubi he still could not feel his approach. "Alright give me some room," Naruto said. Darkness moved back about two meters. Naruto then charged the boulder, jumped and extended his foot, just as he was about to his the rock he fully extended his leg and called out "Sword!" in a blinding flash Naruto obliterated the boulder. "Alright!" Naruto cheered and he began to jump up and down in celebration at his accomplishment.

Darkness silently walked up to Naruto and said, "You will now require an increase in weight and an increase in your flexibility training."

"What?" Naruto stopped abruptly, "BUT WHY!"

"The next technique requires more speed and higher flexibility," Darkness answered. He then raised his hands and the weights on Naruto's legs began to glow.

Naruto could feel the weight increase and said, "This feels a lot heavier."

"It is at least twice your old weight," Darkness informed. "Now begin stretching against the wall."

Naruto obeyed and slowly made his way to a wall about ten meters away. Once he was there he tried to lift his leg and had trouble, "I can barely lift my legs now."

"Use chakra to increase your strength," Darkness instructed.

"I know, I know," Naruto said forcing chakra in to his legs. He then lifted his leg and placed it against the wall. Once he had his balance corrected he hopped on his support leg towards the wall forcing his stretching leg higher up the wall. When it was nearly vertical and parallel to his body he asked, "How long do I have to hold this for?"

"Two hours. Then switch legs." Naruto grumbled but continued this on into the evening.

"And that was only the beginning of the training," Naruto said. "With every technique I learned Darkness would make my training schedule even tougher. If I didn't heal and recover so quickly I would have probably died even with his healing talismans."

Everyone at the ramen stand, his friends and others that were simply listening in, thought the same thing, "That kind of schedule could give Lee's a run."

After about five minutes of silence Hinata asked, "By why does it use feet primarily?"

"Because of slaves," Naruto answered.

"Slaves?" several people asked.

"Yeah," Naruto began to explain. "Shadow Skill originated from female slaves that were forced to do some rather degrading things. Everything from killing to torture to even rape." Everyone became silent after what Naruto said. Not waiting for a response he continued, "Because the slaves had their hands bound and lacked the physical strength to fight back that had to rely of their feet and limber bodies. Darkness said that it was the most feared of all Karuda Killing Styles because its entire basis was to free and restore the dignity of the female slaves."

"Now that I think about it," Sasuke spoke up, "When I fought you yesterday I did take notice you seemed to keep your hands close together like they were bond or something."

"Sounds like Naruto would have an advantage over most shinobi in that case," Shikamaru said.

"What do you mean?" Moegi asked.

"Well except for Taijutsu all jutsus shinobi use require hand seals," Shikamaru explained. "From what Naruto just told us, the entire basis for Shadow Skill is to have your hands bound. That means a regular ninja that gets their hands bound would become pretty useless, but for Naruto it would not matter in anyway." The three Gennins at the stand thought for a moment then nodded in agreement.

While Shikamaru was explaining Kakashi, Naruto, Sukura, Sasuke and Hinata glanced to the side focusing on someone that just arrived. The younger shinobi turned to Kakashi and he just waved them off. They turned back just as Shikamaru was finished explaining and Kakashi stood up, "Well I should be heading out," he announced. "I have to go meet someone," he again glanced outside. The four looked at him again but he just waved them off again. "I'll see you later."

After Kakashi left he walked up with Jiraiya asking, "When will you latest book come out?"

Jiraiya gave him a grin and produced Kakashi's volume, "Here enjoy." He glanced back to the ramen stand. "So he is still alive."

From behind his new book Kakashi answered, "Yes, and it appears that he is already stronger than many Jounin."

"I'm glad to see he's alive," Jiraiya said walking away. "Is what I over heard true?"

"You would have to ask the Third to know just how strong Shadow Skill is," Kakashi said. "But from what he has described of his training and what I witnessed it is incredibly powerful."

"Good," Jiraiya commented, "Konoha will need strong shinobi in the near future." With that he disappeared leaving Kakashi to enjoy his book.

The next day Naruto found himself alone wondering the village. The others had their last day off yesterday and went back to their duties. Naruto had yet to be assigned anywhere, he figured that they honestly did not know what to do with him yet. So he decided to take a walk around the village. Word spread rapidly about his evaluation and the citizens seemed to be avoiding him, it made Naruto remember when he was a child when everyone would take their children away whenever he showed up. The only difference this time was that instead of giving him hateful looks they were giving him fearful ones. "I'm not sure which is worse, being hated and avoided or being feared and avoided," Naruto thought. He continued his walk until he came to Training Area 7. Once he noticed where he was, he slowly approached the memorial stone and saw his name written on it. When he got close enough he noticed that there were signs of his name having to be polished and repolished over and over again. "I guess some people thought I didn't disserve to be on here," he thought out loud. He then laughed, "In a way I guess they were right." He abruptly stood up and called out, "I don't like to be spied on. If you want to say something then say it."

A figure came out from behind a tree and slowly approached. When Naruto turned he saw it was a girl about Konohamaru's age come out. She had the same eyes as Hinata; in fact she looked a lot like Hinata from when he was at the Academy except the girl before him has longer hair. "You're my sister's boyfriend right?"

"Boyfriend?" Naruto asked. "And who's your sister?" although he had a very good idea whom this was.

"Hinata!" the girls snapped.

"Hanabi right?" Naruto asked. "Hinata-chan told me a lot about you."

The girl nodded then asked, "Well are you?"

"I don't know," Naruto answered.

That was not an answer she had expected. Hanabi had thought that he would either say yes of maybe deny being her sister's boyfriend. "What do you mean you don't know?" she spoke with anger.

"Just like it sounds, I don't know," Naruto said in an irritated voice. "I've only been back for a few days and I'm still getting to know her."

"Well then do you at least think she's cute?" Hanabi asked.

Naruto blushed for a minute and was about to answer but a voice stopped him, "Hanabi where are you?" A middle-aged man with long black hair and white eyes came into the clearing, "Ah there you are. Your Jounin-sensei is looking for you?" The man looked a bit irritated but spoke in a calm voice.

"I'm sorry Father," Hanabi bowed. "I was just talking to him," she pointed at Naruto.

Hiashi turned to Naruto with an unreadable expression and turned back to Hanabi. "Your sensei should not have to notify me to find you."

"Yes Father," Hanabi bowed once again. "Good day Father," she then left the area but not before looking at Naruto once again.

After she left Hiashi turned back to Naruto and stared for a moment before turning to leave. "Good day Hyuuga-sama," Naruto said as he left.

Hiashi paused, turned a bit and said, "Good day, Uzumaki-san."

After he left Naruto fell back, "That was intense." He then thought about the two Hyuugas, "Wasn't exactly what I expected Hinata's father to be like that. Then again the Neji is, and the fact that Hinata-chan's father trained him, I shouldn't be surprised."

Naruto decided to continue his walk after the encounter with Hinata's sister and father. He was walking by the bathhouses when he heard a familiar laugh coming from near by. It was not familiar in the voice but in the tone being used. It was the same perverted giggle that Kakashi used when he was reading his Icha Icha books. Following the giggles Naruto soon came upon a slightly elderly man peeking through a hole in the fence. "Just what do you think you're doing?" Naruto said with unbidden hostility in his voice. The man turned around and once Naruto saw his face a frown formed, "You're that geezer pervert that gave Kakashi-sensei his book yesterday."

"Hey don't call me a geezer!" Jiraiya shouted. He then covered mouth real quickly and frantically turned his head making sure no one saw him. "If you know about my books then you should know I need inspiration to write them." Without another word he turned back around and peeked back through the hole.

Naruto was now extremely angry, he never really liked perverts, only liked to embarrass them in front of others. He liked them even less as he grew older, and now here was one being blatantly obvious about it in front of him. He moved forward about to deck the man when a puff of smoke appeared in between the two. "Jiraiya-sama," an Anbu spoke. "The Hokage wishes your presence immediately." He then turned to Naruto, "And he requests your presence as well." Naruto nodded and the Anbu vanished, when he turned back around to again try and deck Jiraiya he found he was already gone.

The Third sat in his office with several Jounin and a few Anbu waiting for the last two people to show up so he could start the meeting. After his talk with Jiraiya yesterday he decided to take action in preparing for a possible attack within the next couple of months. The first to arrive was his old student and the last Naruto was not far behind him. Once they arrived and took their places he began, "According to recent information provided by Jiraiya we have learned that there are negotiations going on between Cloud and Stone. We have not had the best relationship with either county in the past so the negotiations could lead to a security risk for the village. Because of that I am sending a team to investigate potential threats and to see if the rumors about a third party involved are correct. The team will consist of Genma, Kurenai and Aoba, you will leave once I give you the information after the meeting."

"Yes Hokage-sama," the three said together.

"And because of the possible threats I am canceling any rookie Gennin team missions that will occur outside the village," the Third said. The various Jounin instructors nodded. "Next we will be increasing Anbu patrols outside the village and increase the presence of Jounins that are not assigned to any teams." The two groups nodded in confirmation. "That is all, except for Naruto and Jiraiya, the rest of you pass on the orders." The Hokage then gave a scroll to Genma saying, "Here is all the information you will need."

Once everyone was out Naruto asked, "So why did you want us to stay?"

The Third was about to answer when a knock came from the door. Hinata entered saying, "You wished to see me Hokage-sama?"

"Ah yes, I have called you here because you will be joining these two on their mission," the Hokage said.

"Wait a minute what mission?" Naruto asked.

"The mission I had you stay behind to give you," the Third answered. "This will be an A-rank mission that could take some time. I am sending you on a mission to search for someone and bring her back to the village."

"Ok," Naruto said, "If it's A-rank that injuries are expect that explains Hinata, being a medic and all. But what about him?" Naruto asked turning to Jiraiya, who was staring at Hinata with some drool coming out of his mouth. When Naruto saw this his fist clenched in anger.

"Jiraiya is the only one that seems to be able to find her," the Hokage answered.

Taking his gaze off Hinata Jiraiya asked, "What makes you think I know where she is?"

The Third pulled out his latest Icha Icha book, causing Naruto to clench his fist more and Hinata to blush, and said, "In you latest volume you mentioned 'an angry she demon with monstrous strength interrupted the hero's pursuit.'" The Hokage put the book away, "And since you only write about 'inspiration' that happened recently, that implies that you have seen her not too long ago."

"Alright," Jiraiya said, "But I'm only doing this because you gave me exclusive privilege to research my next volume without being arrested." That statement had both younger ninjas turn red in embarrassment and anger.

"You will leave in an hour," the Hokage ordered calling an end to the meeting.

"Meet me at the main entrance," Jiraiya said. He was about to leave when he felt a tug on his shirt.

When Jiraiya turned around Naruto let go of his shirt and grabbed his neck. "If you peek a Hinata-chan just once," Naruto said in dead cold voice. "I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life breathing through a tube." Naruto then let go of him and went to join Hinata who left before the other two.

Authors Note:

For those that are wondering the reason Sasuke does not have a curse seal is because Orichimaru never gave him one. Orichimaru was obly able to give Sasuke one because he was valinarble during the second part of the chunin exam. And by the time he entered a chunin examSasuke had already developed the Sharingan and his other abilities to a point that it would take too much time for Orichimaru to give Sasuke the seal before others showed up to help.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

It was four days since the Hokage had made the new set of orders regarding the security of the village. And true to his word no rookie Gennin team was permitted outside the village gates. In fact very seldom was any Gennin seen outside the gates. The Jounins that were not assigned a Gennin team became more visible and this lightened some of the anxiety of the village. With the Jounins around people felt safe because having such high ranked shinobi around meant that very few people could get into the village unnoticed. In truth the time only the villagers were on edge was when they saw an increase of visible shinobi was when it came to the Anbu.

When the Anbu patrols became noticeable it always made the citizens nervous. For two reasons; first, even the civilians of the village knew that the Anbu were often given the more undesirable duties of the ninja community, second, if an increase in Anbu were spotted it meant that there were less higher level ninjas to guard the village and the Anbu were forced to fill those spots. Fortunately this had not come to pass, the information that Jiraiya had brought gave Konoha an advanced warning to the possible threats from the alliance between Stone and Cloud. Currently an Anbu Captain was meeting with his former Gennin team leader for a talk. "How long do you think it will take the Jounin team to get any information back?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi closed his exposed eye in thought, "Hmm, considering that they will be traveling to Cloud, I would say it wouldn't take that long to get there." He paused and thought some more, "But considering that this requires covert surveillance to get the information necessary, it could take a while."

"Why are they heading to Cloud?" Sasuke asked.

"Because although Cloud and Stone are relatively equal distance to Konoha, Cloud is still a peninsula," Kakashi said, "It is better to hold the meeting there."

"Because of the few safe ports from the ruff coastlines and one way by land it's easier to guard against spies," Sasuke concluded.

"Right," Kakashi stated, "Believe me I've been to Cloud a couple of times, much of the coastline is hazardous even for experienced shinobi."

"How long are you off until your next mission?" Sasuke asked changing the subject somewhat.

"I've been given a couple of days off," Kakashi answered. "Hokage-sama has the rotation pretty well planned out. I think the next ones in line are Sakura and Gai. In fact here she comes."

"Hello Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura greeted. "How are things going?"

"I've been caught up in my patrols," Sasuke answered, "Speaking of which I should go meet up with my team." And with that he left the other two.

"I'm just getting into my new book Jiraiya-sama gave me," Kakashi said with a blush.

If Sakura were not used to her perverted teacher, she would smacked him for that comment. "Well just remember our deal," Sakura said, "Don't read those books around me and I won't tell Hokage-sama that you took his last book." Kakashi nodded slightly nervous, so far the deal had worked out, but it was hard to put down the latest volume. "Well anyway I should go meet up with Gai and get started on my next mission."

As soon as Sakura was out of sight Kakashi took out his book, "Finally now I can see what happens next after the shower scene."

A little over five days travel, for a non-shinobi, three people were setting up camp for the night. "So how are we supposed to find this, Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

"We'll ask around at the some of the local gambling houses," Jiraiya answered.

"Why gambling houses?" Naruto asked confused, "I thought she was a medic."

"She is Naruto-kun," Hinata answered, "But Tsunade is reported to have a bit of a gambling problem."

"Not to mention being very bad at it," Jiraiya answered.

"Let me guess your plan is for us to pose as debt collectors," Naruto said. Jiraiya nodded in confirmation. "But Hinata-chan, how do you know about her gambling problem?"

"Well anyone who wants to be a medic learns about Tsunade," Hinata answers. "And from my studies I heard about her nickname."

"What's her nickname?" asked a curious Naruto.

"It's the Legendary Sucker," Jiraiya answered with a grin.

After a few moments of silence Hinata stood up causing Naruto to ask, "Where are you going Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blushed for a moment, "Um, I was just going for a walk to…" as she talked her face became increasingly red.

Naruto caught on to what she was trying to say and blushed in embarrassment, "Oh well don't wonder off too far.

As she left Jiraiya followed her path with his head and was about to mention someone should keep an eye on her. But the ice-cold stare he felt from behind him, where Naruto was, made him remember the threat he gave him before the group left. Deciding it would be best to side on caution for once when it came to his perverted-ness, Jiraiya did not mention it. Instead he asked, "How should we do the watch?"

Naruto still with his icy stare replied, "I should take the late watch. I can see better in the dark than either of you."

"How is that?" Jiraiya asked.

"My eyes are more photo-sensitive than a normal person's," Naruto said pointing to his slitted eyes. "And I can increase my night vision even more with chakra."

"Having sensitive eyes like that can be a great weakness as well as strength," Jiraiya cautioned.

"Believe me I know," Naruto said shaking his head, "When I first got them one night when I was away I had not realized until I woke up the next day how sensitive they truly were. Almost blinded myself when I woke up, but I've learned to adjust to the extra sensitivity even when I enhance then even more."

"Well then you taking the latest shift is fine with me," Jiraiya said, "Then I'll take the middle and Hinata will take the first."

"Alright we'll tell her when she gets back," Naruto said. About ten minutes later Hinata arrived and was informed of the watch rotation. She agreed and the three settled in for the night.

It was about two hours before the first rays of sunrise would reach the group. Naruto was in the middle of his turn at watch when he heard some commotion not far off. Slowly reaching over he shook Hinata awake, who had fallen asleep right next to him. When she opened her eyes Naruto made a gesture for her to remain still. She complied and then he scratched by his eyes after giving her the briefest of glances. Hinata understood the gesture and silently activated her blood limit where she lay. After scanning the area she moved fingers a few times telling Naruto how many there were.

After a few minutes of silence Naruto heard some rustling again. This time it was less than five meters away from the campsite. "Wake up Ero-Sennin," Naruto said. "We got company." Naruto stood up just as Jiraiya awoke.

"How many?" Jiraiya asked.

"I counted at least six," Hinata said standing herself.

As the three traveling companions took a defensive position six figures emerged from the bushes and trees. "Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto asked.

The six opponents gave no response except for attacking by throwing several kunai and shuriken. The three easily dodged and spilt off to attack. Naruto disappeared from sight then reappeared behind one of the enemies and kicked him sending the enemy into a near by tree. Hinata once again activated her blood limit and quickly struck one closest to her with a combination chakra scalpel and gentle fist, rendering one arm and leg of her opponent completely useless. Jiraiya had summoned a toad as large as him and the toad used its tongue to knock one his opponents away.

The both the injured and non-injured of the six attackers moved back with varying degrees of ease. "You can't win," Naruto said. "Give up."

Again there came no response from the enemies, except this time in addition to taking out more weapons strange black marks began to appear on their skin. "Kill them quickly!" Jiraiya ordered.

As the marks continued to expand Naruto and Hinata heard Jiraiya's order and wondered why he said that. Their silent question was answered when they felt a sudden upsurge of chakra from the opponents. Not wasting any more time Naruto and Hinata charged their previous opponents. Naruto jumped into the air, spun and kicked the one he previously injured in the neck killing him instantly. The other was able to jump away but as soon as Naruto landed he quickly threw out his hands shouting "Haken!" a burst of wind came out of his hands hitting his last opponent before he could finish his hand seals. Naruto capitalizing on his advantage decided to end this now and followed up with, "Rapier!" The powerful technique killed the enemy before he knew what hit him.

Hinata charged just as Naruto did. But instead of going after the weakened opponent she when for the stronger one. She felt that with the injuries she gave the other one he would not be of much help. Hinata quickly moved in striking several chakra points as well as cutting vital organs with her chakra scalpels. She quickly rendered him unconscious and barely alive. Luckily for her she had her blood limit activated otherwise she would have been struck by several shurikens in the back. Jumping to avoid the attack Hinata quickly scanned the direction they came from. To her surprise she noticed that the injured opponent now had a different chakra pattern than before. The brief pause was enough time for the attacker to charge her. Unfortunately for him Hinata said, "You have just entered my range of deviation." She then rushed forward performing, "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshuo!" She quickly struck the sixty-four chakra points killing the enemy.

Jiraiya not having hesitated jumped off his frog and quickly killed the uninjured attacker before the marks could fully spread. At the same time his toad attacked the injured opponent and killed him quickly as well.

After the battle Naruto asked, "Who the hell were they? And what the hell were those marks?"

"Their forehead protector shows they are from Hidden Sound," Hinata said examining one of the bodies. She looked back up to Naruto and continued, "Hidden Sound in a new shinobi village that showed up not long after you…left. But as to the marks…"

"They're Curse Seals," Jiraiya answered, "But unlike the ones on the Branch House of the Hyuuga, these don't lessen the person's ability, they increase it."

"Then why are they Curse Seals?" Hinata asked.

"Because most people don't survive if the seal gets planted on them," Jiraiya replied, "That and if the person is unwilling to fight it they loose their mind to the seal."

"How do you know so much about them?" Naruto asked.

"I'll tell you later," Jiraiya responded, "But right now we need to break camp and hurry up and find Tsunade."

Three days latter in a darkened chamber a man wearing glasses slowly approached another man with yellow eyes. "Orichimaru-sama," Kabuto greeted, "The team that was sent to follow Jiraiya and his two companions was found killed."

"Those fools," Orichimaru said, "They should not have tried to attack my old teammate."

"Orichimaru-sama," Kabuto spoke again, "Whom will you send after Jiraiya? If he contacts Tsunade and convinces her to rejoin Konoha…"

"I am aware what will happen Kabuto!" Orichimaru said angrily. "Is there any word on whom is accompanying Jiraiya?"

"Our spies tell us that the girl is the Hyugga Heiress," Kabuto informed, "And the boy is someone that goes by the name of Shadow Claw. Our spies also tell us that this Shadow Claw fights in an unknown fighting style and it is quite powerful."

Orichimaru thought for a minute, "Send the Sound Four," he ordered. "Tell them to watch and wait. I wish to know more about this unknown fighting style, and maybe get an opportunity to get the Byakugan."

"Yes Orichimaru-sama," Kabuto bowed then left.

Naruto, Jiraiya and Hinata had been traveling for a week and a half, straight at their best speed, only stopping for quick episodes of rest. After the attack from the Sound shinobi, Jiraiya insisted that they get as far away as possible from their previous location. They were now near the western boundaries of Fire Country and they decided to once again continue their search for Tsunade. There were several towns around their location but only a few had any gambling. The group had decided to concentrate their search solely to the gambling city in hopes of hearing recent stories of a woman with severe bad luck. So far they had come up with nothing.

"You know I'm beginning to think that Tsunade might have just gone underground," Naruto said brushing his hair out of his eyes. He was not wearing his forehead protector so his hair fell down over his eyes. Jiraiya had suggested removing their forehead protectors in order to blend in around the villages with out using chakra that could be detected. "From the way you describe her debts it would be the smartest thing she could do."

"For a normal person yes," Jiraiya replied, "But with Tsunade, she just can't resist gambling."

"Well if we do not find any information from the next town," Hinata joined in, "Where will we go from there?"

"We'll have to leave the Country and search some of the smaller Countries," Jiraiya said. "Fortunately Tsunade doesn't travel much in other Shinobi Countries."

"Why is that?" Naruto asked.

"Because regardless of the reasons why she left, she will not give up any secrets to another country," Jiraiya explained. Both Hinata and Naruto nodded in understanding, both knew from their own experiences what it meant to keep secrets about techniques to themselves.

It did not take them much longer to reach the next village. This one was about medium sized and was pretty much designated as a tourist town. That meant that there were quite a number of gambling houses that would appeal to Tsunade as well as other methods of distraction that would appeal to Jiraiya. After looking around for a minute and noticing several said distractions Jiraiya announced, "Why don't you two head to a hotel and book us a couple of rooms. I'll start searching for information." Though he did not specify what kind of information, the slight drool on at the corner of his mouth told his companions everything they needed to know.

"Just don't spend any of our money you pervert," Naruto said after the retreating Jiraiya. Sighing he turned to Hinata, "We should probably check into an inexpensive hotel then search ourselves."

"Ok Naruto-kun," Hinata agreed, "I think the best place would probably be at the north side of the village. It's away from the major tourist spots so the rates should lower."

"That sounds good Hinata-chan," Naruto said.

After searching for a half an hour they found one they could afford. As they approached the front desk the elderly manager greeted, "Hello there, what a lovely couple you are, would you like a room to rent?"

Both Hinata and Naruto blushed slightly, "Yes, we would like to stay here but we would like two rooms please."

"Oh," the manager said then leaned over the counter and whisper to Naruto, "You haven't reached that point yet?"

Although the manager whispered Hinata was still able to hear him, "Um I'm sorry Sir, but we would like two rooms because we are traveling with a third person…"

She was cut off the manager, "Oh I see you two want some privacy I understand. Here are your room keys. Your rooms will be across the hall from each other on the second floor. First door on your right has the larger bed."

Both blushed at the misinterpretation even more but when they tried to correct him, the manager would just disregard them. So the two did not press and went to the their rooms. Once they unpacked the two met outside, pointedly avoiding the manager, to start checking some of the gambling houses.

After they checked out the third gambling house and still had no luck, Naruto and Hinata decided to take a break. After traveling for two days none stop to even catch their breath and spending half the day searching the two began to feel fatigue setting in. The two teenagers decided to get something to eat and then relax for a couple of hours. They figured by that time their older companion would have either run out of money or just been run out of where ever he was and then go search for him.

During one the few moments that Hinata left Naruto alone, he noticed he was next to a rather small gambling house. There was an open slot machine next to the entrance, and yielding to his curiosity, Naruto placed a coin into the machine and to his surprise he won.

Hinata had come back to the spot where she left Naruto not too long ago. She looked around trying to locate him, but because they were in the busier part of the town, she could not see him through the crowd. After several minutes of looking and not finding any trace of Naruto she decided to search a different way. Silently activating her blood limit, Hinata quickly picked up a strongly suppressed chakra signature not too far from where she was. Deactivating her blood limit Hinata went toward the signature and when she arrived she was surprised to see that it was not Naruto that she sensed. In fact it was a woman carrying a small pig. The woman seemed to notice someone was looking at her and turned towards Hinata. When their eyes met the woman became startled saying, "A Hyuuga?"

Back at Naruto, he was on his tenth game on the slot machine. And although he lost seven of those games, the three he won had been jackpots. So his pile of coins had become rather high. Naruto was about to stick another coin in when he felt someone watching him from behind. He turned back to see a well endowed woman first looking at his pile of money then at him, "It seems you've got pretty good luck kid. Want to try a real game with me?"

After glancing around the area for a moment Naruto shrugged, "I guess a quick game won't hurt." With that he took the winnings from the slot machine and followed the well-endowed woman further back into the gambling house.

"Oh I see," the woman carrying the pig, now known as Shizune, said. "So you're on a mission."

"Yes," Hinata answered. She kept the details to herself because, although Shizune claimed to be from Konoha, Hinata was not sure if she was telling the truth. And after the attack from the Sound ninjas it was better to side with caution.

"Well I'm sure Ts…" Shizune was cut off by a large amount of commotion coming from down the street. Looking in the direction Shizune noticed that the disturbance came from a gambling house she sighed, "Not again," and ran off in the same direction. Hinata was confused for a moment but decided to follow to see what had happened.

When the two arrived at the gambling house they heard a shout from within, "I know you two are cheating! The only hands you've lost are too each other!"

"How could we be cheating?" a female voice shouted back, "I just met this kid ten minutes ago!"

"Yeah!" a male voice agreed, "Just because you suck doesn't mean the others are cheating!"

"Oh no," Shizune said as she recognized the female voice. Hinata had similar thoughts as she recognized the male voice.

Back inside the conflict began to escalate, "Give me back my money and there won't be any trouble," the man who had lost the last three hands said.

"Hey you lost fare and square!" Naruto retorted. "And if you don't want to loose more than just your money I suggest you leave."

"I agree with my new friend here," Tsunade said. "I've lost my fare share of hands in the past but I never accused a person of cheating whom wasn't; you're just being a sore loser."

"Do you have any idea who I am?" the man asked.

"Not really, should I?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"That's it!" the man pulled out a short-sword from his back and along with three other people that were watching from close by attacked.

Naruto gazed at the attackers and knew they were no threat so he let them come. Two attacked him while the other two attacked the woman to his right. The two attacking Naruto both swung their swords down at Naruto and to their surprise Naruto brought his forearm up and blocked the attack. Thanks in part to the weights on his arm but mostly because of his strength, he not only stopped the blades, they also broke on his arm. Sighing Naruto said, "Such low quality weapons." Then looking up he saw the horror stricken looks on the two men's faces. Taking a deep breath Naruto yelled, "BOO!" the two men jumped back and quickly ran out the exit.

Naruto turned to the woman and saw she was holding her two attackers in one hand by their shirts and a sake bottle in the other. She then crushed the sake bottle and said, "If you come near me again you'll end up just like the sake bottle." With that she threw the two men out the entrance. "Well that was fun, so what's your name kid?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said with a big smile. "What's yours?"

Tsunade seemed to flinch at the smile briefly, but the shock quickly left. She answered, "I'm…" but she was interrupted by a voice from the entrance.

"Tsunade-sama!" Naruto turned to the source of the voice and noticed Hinata was standing next to a woman holding a pig.

He then caught what the woman next to Hinata said, "Waite you're Tsunade?"

Tsunade turned away from Shizune and the Hyuuga with her to the teenager next to her and responded, "Yeah, have we met?"

Authors note:

I think it should be noted that in Naruto's world, people matureon an emtional and mental level very quickly, regardless whether or not they are shinobi. This is mostly because it is assumed that many people get attacked by bandits and shinobi. For this reason the manager of the hotel assumed that when he saw two teenagers traveling alone, even though Naruto and Hinata were not wearing their forehead protectors, that they were in relationship.

Also some people have commented on the fast developing feelings Naruto has for Hinata. For that, remember that Naruto had been without any real kind of emotional bonding most of his life and longed for some. Even his time away did not stop that need, in fact it increased it. So when he found out Hinata liked him enough to attend his funeral when so few did he kind of latched onto that and developed a quick friendship with her. And from there his feelings had started and are still growing toward Hinata.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

After the rather eventful meeting the four shinobi and pig left the gambling house. They made their way to a bar close by to discuss why Naruto and Hinata were there. After they were seated Tsunade began to drink sake. She figured with two Konoha shinobi she would need a drink. Her first question was, "So where is your third member? Konoha shinobi usually travel in groups of three or four."

"We're not sure where our third member is," Naruto said. "But that old pervert is probably at some bath house trying to get a glimpse of some girls."

"Old pervert?" Tsunade questioned, "Don't tell me he sent Jiraiya with you kids."

"Hokage-sama did, Tsunade-sama," Hinata answered.

Tsunade sighed, "So I'm assuming that you are here to try and convince me to head back, right?" She received a nod from the two young shinobi, "Well you can forget it. I'm not going back!"

Naruto was about to retort when a loud smack was heard from across the room. He turned to see a very angry looking young woman walking away from a white haired man with a large red welt on his face. "Doesn't that geezer have any self control?"

Tsunade looked in the same direction as Naruto and said, "Not for as long as I've known him."

At this point Jiraiya was rubbing his face when he saw his companions as well as his former teammate sitting at the same table. Making his way over to them he could not help but comment, "Naruto I knew you had in you to get with more than one lady but I never thought Tsunade would go for someone your age." The response he got was total black out.

After a few minutes Jiraiya woke back up only to find Tsunade and Shizune there with him. "What happened to Naruto and Hinata?"

"Hinata started to look rather tired," Shizune answered. "And Naruto took her back to the hotel they checked into. Naruto said that it's at the other end of town and that yours and his room are on the left just up the stairs."

"He also said his threat still stands," Tsunade added. She saw a slight shiver run down Jiraiya's spine and smiled. She had to admit that except for the fact that Naruto was from Konoha and was here to bring her back she kind of liked him. Especially since she seemed to win at gambling when he was around. Her time with Naruto just a short while ago was first time she won at all in a long time. "So Sensei wants me back," Tsunade said getting back to the reason Jiraiya was there.

"Yeah," he answered. "There's trouble coming and he wants you there to help."

"I have to give the old man credit," Tsunade smirked, "I always said that the Hyuuga with their blood limit would make good medics and so he sends one to find me to make me feel all nostalgic. Well it won't work I'm still not coming back."

"That was one of his reasons for sending her, yes," Jiraiya commented. "But his real reason was to make sure Naruto comes back."

Intrigued Tsunade asked, "What's so special about him?"

Jiraiya faced her with a serious expression, "He's the Forth's legacy."

"You mean he's…" Tsunade asked surprised. Jiraiya nodded in confirmation, "I thought he died two years ago."

"That's what everyone thought," Jiraiya replied.

"Bringing out all the stops eh," Tsunade whispered. Sending a reminder of what it means to sacrifice for the village brought back a lot of old memories, both good and bad. Her face contorted to a scowl and she said, "Well he isn't going to change my mind, I'm not going back." She stood up, "Let's go Shizune." Tsunade then left with Shizune following behind.

"Almost got to her there," Jiraiya mused. "Not a bad plan Sensei, but you may have had the opposite effect of what you were trying to do."

Just after Jiraiya left a woman from the other side of the room got up from her table and left. She had been silently observing the exchange between the group of shinobi but she went unnoticed because of the continuous distractions the shinobi were subjected to. As the woman made her way out of the village she went to a small forest and fell to the ground. In her place was what appeared to a demon with white hair and a bone-plated arm. The demon began to transform into a human with black marks on his body. As he transformed he called out, "Brother I have the information."

Four figures appeared next to the now human. One person stepped forward and he began to absorb the first human. After a few moments the person turned to his companions now spotting two heads, one right behind the other; one facing the his companions and one away. "So Sakon what is the news your brother has?" the only woman of the group asked.

"Well Tayuya," Sakon answered, "The Hyuuga and the one called Shadow Claw have left the group. And although they made contact with Tsunade they could not convince her to join them. Now's the perfect time to attack them and take the Hyuuga's eyes."

"Orochimaru-sama said we should watch them," the largest one said.

"Shut up you fat idiot!" Tayuya said, "Orochimaru-sama also said he wanted the Byakugan."

"You ugly wench…" the large one began.

"Shut up Jiroubou!" the one with six arms said. "Tayuya and Sakon are right. We should take this chance while they are separated to finish the weaker ones."

"Then lets get going," Sakon ordered.

"We should still be cautious however," the six armed one warned. "From what Kabuto said this Shadow Claw is at Jounin level and could compete on the same level of Uchiha Sasuke. The body Orochimaru-sama still wants."

"Kidomaru is right," Tayuya agreed, "We should think of a plan first."

"Very well," Sakon said, "My brother said that they were both tired from the trip here and should be resting. But that still does not give us much time."

In his hotel room Naruto woke from his slumber due to a ringing in his ear. He looked around the room and noticed that he was still alone, "Wonder how long I've been asleep?" After looking at the clock next to his bed he cursed, "Damn! I didn't mean to sleep for four hours!" He stood up and moved to the door, "Better go see in Hinata-chan is alright." After they returned to the hotel he took Hinata into her room. The fatigue finally caught up to her and she was only half awake by the time the reached their rooms. He had to help her to the bed and as soon as she hit it she fell asleep.

Leaving the room he noticed that the door to Hinata's room was slightly open. Naruto's first thought was, "If Ero-Sannin tried to peek at her I swear I'll kill him!" When he moved closer to shut the door he noticed there was no sound of breathing coming from the room. Cautiously he opened the door and noticed the bed was empty. "She wouldn't have left the hotel with out trying to wake me, and I would have heard her." A creek from the stares caught his attention, moving to investigate the noise Naruto saw Hinata just reach the bottom of the stairs, "Hinata-chan!" he called but got no answer.

Naruto rushed down the stairs to follow her after he got no response from his call. When he reached Hinata he stopped her with his hand and turned her around. When he met her face he realized she was in a trance and then noticed that the ringing in his ears had not left, "Someone put us under a Genjutsu that attacks our hearing, but because I can detect sub-sonic noises I can hear the sound." He then thought for a minute, "Now how do you undo a Genjutsu placed on someone else?" After a few minutes he remembered and placed his hands on Hinata's forehead and said, "Release!" Hinata blinked a few times and saw Naruto standing right in front of her.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned "What happened?"

"You were under a powerful Genjutsu that attacks using sound," Naruto answered. "The source is coming from outside the village. And I'm not sure where Ero-Sannin or Tsunade is."

"We should find out who is after us," Hinata said.

"That's what I was thinking, Hinata-chan," Naruto smiled. "Since the Genjutsu was focused on us we can assume they are expecting us soon. The Genjutsu doesn't affect me because I can hear the sound, and now that you know about it, it will no longer affect you. We can use that to our advantage and follow the source, they won't be expecting us not to be under the Genjutsu and we can surprise them."

"But we don't know how many there are," Hinata objected, "We can't just walk into a situation without knowing the numbers of enemies or their strengths."

Naruto nodded, Hinata was right. "We need to find out who they are and what they want without us being at risk," Naruto thought out loud. "I know. I haven't used these in a long time," Naruto performed some hand seals calling, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Two Narutos appeared and then one immediately called, "Henge," and transformed into Hinata. The original Naruto turned to Hinata, "This probably won't fool them for long…"

"But it should give us enough time to see their numbers at least," Hinata finished.

Back at the forest the Sound Four were impatiently waiting for the pair of shinobi to arrive. "Your Genjutsu probably failed," Jiroubou said.

Tayuya paused from her flute, "Shut up you fatass!" and went back to her flute.

Jiroubou was about to retort when their targets entered the area. Because of the group's impatience they jumped down out of the trees without pause. When they approached they notice something strange, "Wait!" Tayuya said, "Their eyes should not be that alert!"

"Finally figured it out that your Genjutsu has no effect on us?" the blond taunted.

"No matter," Sakon said, "Kidomaru!"

Kidomaru quickly performed several hand seals calling, "Ninpou; Kumoshi Bari," a web shot out of his mouth and captured the two Leaf Shinobi before they could act.

"The girl doesn't have the Hyuuga Curse Seal," Sakon noticed, "That means we can kill her and take her eyes. It'll be much less hassle than trying to take her alive."

"Then let me finish them," Jiroubou said, "I'm feeling rather hungry."

"Fine!" Tayuya frowned, "Just do it already, the longer we stay here the more likely the two Sannin will find us!"

Jiroubou stepped forward doing some hand seals, but before he could finish Kidomaru whispered, "Stop, there are more people out there!" the others looked at him and he continued, "At least two more are coming this way, it must be the Sannins, we don't have time for you to feed!"

Sakon pulled out two kunai, "Then we need to kill them quickly." He threw the kunai and when the hit their targets to all four's surprise the two shinobi in the web disappeared in a burst of smoke. "Damn, Kage Bushins, their better than I thought."

Just as Sakon finished speaking a person yelled, "Sword!" a body then dashed into the clearing striking him in the chest sending him into a nearby tree. The other three had been able to jump out of the way but Tayuya had jumped the wrong way, as another person came from behind her and stuck at her neck. The second ninja then joined her partner soon after Tayuya hit the ground unable to move.

"Two down, two to go," Naruto said as Hinata joined him. They both took their preferred stances preparing to attack again. They scanned the area but were only able to find the two they injured and the big one, "Hinata-chan where did the one with six arms go?"

Hinata activated her blood limit but before she could scan the entire area an arrow shot through the dark just narrowly missing the pair. The two then jumped away from each other in order to spread out the archer's targets. Unfortunately the two jumped right into the enemy's hands, literally. Sakon caught Naruto and Hinata was caught by Jiroubou, both were able to move fast enough to catch Naruto and Hinata because the activated the Curse Seals. When Naruto saw who had him he said, "You should be knocked out, I got a clean hit."

"Not as clean as you think," Sakon smirked, "My brother blocked your kick just before it hit my chest. I don't know what kind of jutsu that was but it is no match for me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes saying, "Don't underestimate Shadow Skill." Sakon was about to say something but Naruto yelled, "Tomahawk!" he thrust his feet out hitting Sakon directly in the chin causing Naruto to drop. As soon as Naruto hit the ground he jumped and called "Sword!" knocking Sakon away.

Meanwhile Jiroubou held onto Hinata firmly saying, "Your chakra must be delicious since you're a Hyuuga." He then began to absorb Hinata's chakra.

Hinata tried to pull out but she lacked the strength to break free. As she felt her chakra being drained from her body she began to panic. "I haven't learned the Hakke Shou Kaiten yet! If I did then I could easily break free of his arms." Then she remembered, "Wait the nerves in the forearms control the hands!" Quickly channeling chakra into her legs she flung both legs up and hit Jiroubou's right arm forcing him to loosen his grip. Taking the opportunity she had, Hinata rotated her body out of his left and dropped to the ground then began striking chakra holes. Jiroubou jumped back and just as Hinata was about to pursue him an arrow stopped her advanced. Jumping away she decided it would be best to rejoin Naruto.

As Hinata rejoined with Naruto under the cover of some trees so the archer could not spot them, Sakon and Jiroubou gathered with Tayuya. "Can you stand?" Sakon asked.

"Yeah," Tayuya stood though barely, "That little bitch must be a medic she hit my neck messing up my muscle control."

"Yes their better than we thought," Jiroubou commented.

"We'll have to use level 2," Sakon said. "We can't afford for them to team up with the Sannin." He then shouted, "Kiromaru keep us covered!" The three of the Four Sounds began to change once again, become artificial demons in their level 2 form.

Hearing the shout and seeing the change Naruto cursed, "Damn, with the archer it will be harder for us to attack." He then looked at Hinata, "Hinata-chan I need you to go and take out that six armed freak."

"But Naruto-kun you can't…"

"Yes I can," Naruto said never taking his eyes of the enemy, "But only if that archer in preoccupied."

"Ok Naruto-kun you can count on me," Hinata said determined and dashed off to find the fourth enemy.

The three saw Hinata leave and were about to go after her when Naruto's voice stopped them, "You aren't going anywhere. You're going to fighting me."

"Hahahaha," Sakon laughed, "At Curse Seal Level 2 we are each ten times stronger than we were before. And if you think your girlfriend will be safe by running away then you should know my brother is already after her."

"You think that little bit of power is enough to stop me!" Naruto taunted. "Let me show you what real power is!" Naruto then used the quick release on his weights and they fell with a crash to the ground. "I Am Invincible." As Naruto began to speak his muscles began to flex and his chakra output increased. "No One Can Defeat My Shadow Skill." As Naruto continued to speak his muscles increased, the chakra output further exploded and the ground under him began to crack. "And No One Can Survive One of My Blows!" By the time Naruto finished he was hunched over the chakra output from his body had increased to beyond what the Four Sound thought possible. When Naruto looked at his enemies he could see the amazed looks on their deformed faces, "It's not over yet. Kamui!" Further surprising the three Naruto's muscles, which were nearly ripping out of his skin a second ago began to relax, though still visible they did not look as large as before.

Right before their eyes Naruto vanished from sight. The next thing they heard was, "Chainsaw!" and then the transformed three each felt a devastating kick and were then be sent flying backwards.

Jiroubou being the largest and strongest was the first to stand. He scanned the area only finding his teammates. Soon after they stood up and he asked, "What did he do?"

"I used the Kamui Principle," Naruto answered from a tree not far away. "It relaxes my muscles making me six times faster than before. That combined with the Language of Martial Arts that increase my physical power and chakra output, you won't last five minutes against me. Even with those Curse Seals." Naruto then disappeared from sight again and again each of the three felt another kick that sent them flying.

Just after she left Hinata felt a familiar rise in chakra coming from Naruto, "That's like what happened when he fought Sasuke, only this time he feels even stronger!" Shaking herself out of her shock Hinata activated her Byakugan. It did not take her long to spot the forth member of the Sound Four in a tree more then two hundred meters away. "He must have impeccable aim to hit a target at that distance." Hinata thought for a moment before deciding the best way to take out the archer would be to attack from behind at close range. But because she did not know how long Naruto could fight at the level he was at, she could not afford to waist time. "As long as I keep him in sight his I should be able to dodge his arrows." With her decision made Hinata dashed off in a direct line to the archer. What she did not notice however was that a person was following her as she raced a head.

Kidomaru easily detected Hinata's approach as she came at him head on. He turned to face her and shot out his arrow. Hinata went dodged the attack and continued to move in but to her surprise she saw a string of webbing attached to the end guiding the arrow making it go where she dodged. Fortunately she was quick enough to keep the arrow from hitting anything vital. Hinata ducked behind a tree still using her blood limit to track her enemy. Hinata focused chakra into her hands and healed the damage the arrow inflicted.

Kidomaru thought, "I saw what she was able to do to the others. If she get in close range I'm done for. I have to finish her quickly, because from what I saw back at the others unless I give them cover that Shadow Claw guy will pick them apart. I still can't believe someone could produce that kind of power."

"If I focus on the chakra I saw him use to guide the arrows with the web," Hinata thought. "I may be able to cut them before the arrow can hit me as I dodge. The problem is that switching from sensing chakra to three-hundred sixty degree sight continuously will use up a lot of my chakra, but that appears to be the best solution." After she fully healed her wound Hinata charged her enemy once again. And again the enemy shot his arrow. Hinata leapt left and through a shuriken at the chakra traveling behind the arrow and suddenly the chakra stopped flowing. She quickly switched back to three-hundred sixty sight and dodged the erratic arrow and continued forward.

"Damn!" Kiromaru though, "She cut the web! I have to move before she gets here!" He jumped from his sniper position and ran through the tree braches in hopes of loosing his pursuer. Every now and again he would glance back to see if Hinata was still following and every time he did he saw she was right in a direct path to him. After he shot a couple of arrows to try and throw her off coarse Kiromaru looked back one last time and suddenly found his pursuer gone, "Where did she go?"

Kiromaru was looking around frantically when he heard, "You are in my range of deviation!" Panicked Kiromaru shot his arrow in the direction of the voice. To bad for him he only was able to graze Hinata as she charged in, "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" Hinata, with Gentle Fist and charka scalpels, struck so fast her hands were a mere blur as she struck her enemy completely devastating him. As Kiromaru stumbled back and collapsed and Hinata dropped to her knees in exhaustion. "I've done it Naruto-kun you can finish them now."

"You may have finished him off, but you haven't dealt with me."

Hinata turned to the voice and was shocked, "But I thought you were fighting Naruto-kun!"

"That is my brother Sakon, I am Ukon," the new arrival said. "And with you being so weak you won't be any match for me." He rushed forward and punched at Hinata shouting, "Ta Ren Ken!" to Hinata it felt like a hundred punches struck her at once. The sheer force of the punches sent her flying back about three meters, "Now you won't have and defense against this." Ukon approached Hinata and slowly began to merge his body with hers.

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked as Ukon pulled his last limb into her.

"You should know that chakra flows throw the body like blood," Ukon answered, "I can merge my body with yours and use my chakra to attack your vital organs, like this."

"AHHH!" Hinata screamed at the amount of pain. She could feel Ukon attacking everyone of her vital organs. It felt like hands were squeezing the very life out of her body. "I don't have the chakra to fight back, other wise I would do the same to him. That means there's only one option." Struggling to maneuver her hand Hinata brought it to her next saying, "If we are joined then what kills me will kill you!" With that said she struck her neck and her body started to go limp.

Ukon yelled, "Agg! You bitch!" He could feel his body begin to go limp as well as Hinata's and quickly extracted himself from her. As he did he saw Hinata struggling to stay awake he said "Clever striking your own body to hurt me, but to reverse the effect all I have to do is extract myself from you body. So now only you will die." As he turned to walk away his curse seal began to fade. "Damn I've been out of Sakon too long! I have to hurry back!"

Ukon started to run when he felt something pierce his back, "You aren't going anywhere," Hinata said breathing heavily. She had chakra scalpels activated and extended into Ukon's lung.

"How? You were dead?" Ukon asked.

Just before he dropped he heard, "I used a pressure point to simulate death for a few seconds to get you to leave my body so I could get a clean shot." Extracting her hands Hinata dropped from complete exhaustion.

Running through the forest were the two Sannin and the apprentice and traveling partner of Tsunade. They had been in town when the felt four very powerful chakra signatures spike into existence, then to their amazement they felt another that seemed to dwarf the four previous erupt from the same area.

Before they met to find the chakra sources…

Just after Naruto left with Hinata and Jiraiya woke up Tsunade left the bar to think. "You damn old man making me think about them." She began to think of the two most important people she ever had in her life, "He has my brother's smile and when he looked at Hinata it was the look Dan gave looking at…" her thoughts were interrupted by Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, "What will you do?" Shizune had not seen her longtime friend like this in quite a while. She knew Tsunade better than anyone and knew by the look on her face she was thinking about the people she loved the most. "I know it's not my place but I think you should go…" she stopped when Tsunade's look begin to get angry.

"Shizune," Tsunade began. Tsunade knew what Shizune was about to say, and if it were any other night she would have told her to mind her own business, in less polite terms. But right now she just did not have the will to say anything. "Let's go to the hotel I'm kind of tired." Shizune nodded silently and followed.

Jiraiya was making his way back to the one place he could think, the bathhouse. The meeting between Tsunade had not gone as he expected. He had expected it to be much less painful, but maybe also more productive. He could see that they had struck a cord somewhere but in the end she refused to bend, "Damn woman is too stubborn for her or anyone's own good…" His thoughts on Tsunade ended as he saw three young women enter the women's side and he began to take notes.

About four hours after they left the bar the three ninja's felt five powerful chakra signatures. The three raced from their spots to the center of town. "What was that?" Shizune asked.

"Those first four felt like Orochimaru's Curse Seals," Tsunade answered, "Only more powerful. As for the fifth, I have no idea, I've never felt anything like it."

"That's exactly what the first four were," Jiraiya commented. "That snake has refined the process to make them more powerful. And the fifth, I think it was Naruto."

"Naruto?" Tsunade asked, "But that wasn't the Kyuubi's chakra!"

"According to Sensei," Jiraiya said, "The Kyuubi is no longer in Naruto." At the mention of Kyuubi no longer being imprisoned both Tsunade and Shizune became horrified. "It's not what you think, and I'll tell you later. But right now we need to help them." With that the three took off to help the younger shinobi.

As they traveled through the forest they felt some of the signatures fade from existence. When they got closer they spotted signs of a recent battle and stopped to investigate. The first thing they came across was the body of a six armed man with clear indications he was involved in a battle with a Hyuuga. The next was the Hyuuga herself, lying next to another body with signs of being attacked with chakra scalpels. Tsunade began to shake as she saw blood coming from the bodies' mouths. Shizune seeing this investigated the Hinata's form. "Looks like it's just chakra depletion. She should be fine," she said as she healed the wound from an arrow.

"Good, bring her!" Jiraiya ordered. "We have to find Naruto!" Shizune picked up Hinata and the three moved away from the bodies with Tsunade in the lead, it was as if she wanted more to get away from the blood than find Naruto.

Not far from where they found Hinata and the bodies they found Naruto standing facing one remaining shinobi. There were two others, but one, that looked like the one Hinata killed, was dead and the other, a large man, was severely beaten. The only one left was staring in shock at the teenager before her as her Curse Seal retracted and her summons began to disappear in a cloud of smoke utterly defeated. "If you value you life, leave," came Jiraiya's voice. The woman fearing for her life, from the monster of a human and prospect of fighting two of the Sannin departed from the seen.

After she left, Naruto stopped his techniques and fell to the ground. To a normal person he looked fine, but to a person with the ability to scan for injuries they could tell that he had massive internal damage from what ever he did to himself. This was what Hinata sensed as soon as she woke up in Shizune's arms, "Naruto-kun!" She broke free of her restraint and rushed to his side. "Don't worry I'll heal you!" She brought her hands over Naruto's chest and tried to heal him. But unfortunately she did not have the chakra to even activate the healing jutsu, "Naruto-kun! I'll heal you don't worry!" But as desperate as she was she just did not have the chakra to do it. "Naruto-kun! Naruto!"

Shizune was about to step in when a hand stopped her. She looked back and saw Jiraiya shaking his head. Shizune was about to smack his arm off when he gestured to Tsunade. Shizune turned to see Tsunade shaking from all the blood, but her gaze was fixed on Hinata trying desperately trying to save Naruto.

In Tsunade's eyes she did not see Hinata trying to save Naruto. She saw herself trying to save her fiancé, Dan. One side of her mind was screaming for her body to move to help save the young teenager. One side was frozen at the memory of her failing to save her love. And yet another frozen by her fear of blood. She remained immobile until she heard a whisper through all her conflicting thoughts ask, "Do you want her to go through what you did?" The whisper brought her out of her confusion, she pushed her fear of blood aside and sprinted toward the two young shinobi.

When she got there Hinata was still trying to activate her healing jutsus and still not succeeding. "Move!" Tsunade ordered as she pushed Hinata aside. Tsunade placed her hands on Naruto's chest and began to heal his wounds. For several minutes it seemed like nothing was happening but Tsunade refused to quit. She kept pouring more of her own chakra into Naruto's body until they heard Naruto begin to cough. She paused and looked at the boy's face as he coughed some more until finally his breathing slowed and became regular. "I think he'll be fine," Tsunade said after Naruto started breathing normally.

Jiraiya let go of Shizune and suggested, "Let's head back to town so everyone can rest."

The next day Jiraiya began to explain everything about Naruto. To say Tsunade was shocked was an understatement. "That kid is a master of Shadow Skill?"

"That's what I'm told," Jiraiya answered. Then he became puzzled, "How do you know about it? I was just told by Sensei before I was sent to find you."

"You forget the First was my grandfather," Tsunade answered. "He told Sensei about Shadow Skill and he also told me when I was a girl before he died."

"Is Shadow Skill as powerful as everyone says it is?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well according to the legend the First told me," Tsunade said. "A master of Shadow Skill could destroy entire mountains but it was just a legend." She then went silent, "Still after what we felt last night…"

Hinata entering the room cutting off Tsunade's sentence, "Naruto-kun is awake!" not waiting for a reply she disappeared back into Naruto's room.

When the three joined Hinata in the room they saw her rap Naruto in a hug slightly crying onto his shoulder. After a few minutes Hinata pulled back and Naruto asked, "How long have I been out?"

Tsunade stepped forward, "You've been out for little over a day. I admit I pleasantly surprised you woke up so fast."

"Only a day?" Naruto asked. "I should have been out for at least two or three." His statement caught everyone's attention.

"What do you mean you should be out for two or three days," Tsunade asked.

"When I fight using a combination of the Language of Martial Arts with the Kamui principle I fight at an extremely high level. If it wasn't for my fast healing I would never be able to do them both at once. And considering the length of time I fought my body should have shut itself down for at least two days."

"Shut itself down?" Shizune asked.

"One of the safe guards of Shadow Skill," Naruto explained. "All of the techniques require vast amounts of chakra and if the user uses too much in any technique the body automatically shuts down. It happens when the user of Shadow Skill has just enough to keep from dyeing. You can't override it even by inducing the two techniques, of coarse after I disengage the techniques my body shuts down anyway in order to heal any damage that was done."

"Why didn't you tell us this before Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"I did, remember," Naruto replied. "I told you and Jiraiya as we traveled here. When you were feeling tired and I offered to carry you because we did not want to stop. I said, 'I'm fine really I haven't begun to push my self, and even if I did I would immediately fall unconscious so my body would recover, it's a safe guard in Shadow Skill.'"

"Now that you mention it, I do remember you saying that," Hinata said. "I guess just seeing you like that made me panic. And I guess Tsunade-sama did not need to heal you after all."

"But thank you for worrying and healing me," Naruto said. He turned to Tsunade and saw she was extremely pissed. But apparently not at him because she and Shizune were facing Jiraiya.

"That's why you held me back!" Shizune accused. "There was no danger of Naruto dying at all!"

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade said cracking her knuckles, "You put me through that on purpose!" She began to advance on Jiraiya.

"Now, now Tsunade, it did cure your hemophobia," Jiraiya said backing up turning paler by the second. "You should thank me." That was the wrong thing to say as Tsunade punched Jiraiya sending him through the several walls and out side the hotel.

Tsunade turned to a very confused Naruto and smiled saying, "As soon as you've rested a little more, we'll all head back to Konoha."

"Um ok," Naruto replied having no clue what they were talking about.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

It was about a week and a half after Naruto, Hinata and Jiraiya left to search for Tsunade. The Third Hokage sat looking over the report that the Jounin team he sent to investigate the alliance between Stone and Cloud Countries sent back. What he read did not please him. In the report, he read that the alliance was orchestrated by the Raikage and Tsuchikage, and that the alliance had appeared to be solely military in purpose. That meant that Konoha was to become a likely target from either or both shinobi villages. Scanning the report one more time he came across the part that confirmed that there was a third party involved. Apparently the idea of the alliance came from an outside source, though information on whom this outside source could be was still being investigated. Hence the reason he was only reading a report and not questioning the team, they were still in Cloud Country.

Sitting back the Hokage thought about the situation, "I hope my gamble with Tsunade pays off. I'm getting to old to be the Hokage anymore and Jiraiya already refused the position. If they can't convince her to return then I will have to start thinking of a new choice. Unfortunately I can't think anyone better suited then her right now." He sighed and looked at the pictures of previous Hokages, "Sensei, I hope your granddaughter will come. If she does we will be in a better position in the war that I know will come. Then there is Orochimaru in the back ground on top of everything else." He then stood up and walked to the door, after he opened he called to the administration Chunin, "Send a message to Kakashi and tell him that I wish to see him immediately. Then send a message to Sasuke and Neji saying that I want to meet them in two hours."

"Yes Hokage-sama," the Chunin answered. "Must want the three on a mission."

Two hours later the first to show up was Sasuke and soon after him Neji. After the greeting they were told to wait until the last member of the meeting arrived. Another fifteen minutes later Kakashi showed up. Turning to his former sensei Sasuke commented, "You're slipping again Kakashi-sensei, for two years you were at most two hours late. Now you are starting return to old habits."

"Sorry," Kakashi apologized, "I was just…"

"Never mind Kakashi," the Hokage interrupted. "I am sending you three on a mission to Suna village. The report from the team that went to Cloud came back and the alliance is going through."

"So you are sending us to request aid in the event of war," Neji stated.

"Correct," the Hokage replied.

"They may not agree," Sasuke said. "They have been on the decline in the last few years and may not wish to risk a possibly costly war."

"That is why you are going," the Hokage said, "We must know if Suna is willing to help us or not."

"So this is a fact finding mission as well as a diplomatic one," Kakashi concluded. "When do we leave?"

"You leave with in an hour."

"What about my team?" Sasuke asked.

"They will be allocated to other duties while you are away," The Hokage answered. The three bowed and left the room.

Outside the Hokage's office the three went their separate ways. But not before Neji called out, "Don't be late Copycat!"

Kakashi stopped and rubbed the back of his head, "I'll you at the main gate in an hour."

Close to an hour later the two teenagers met at the main gate, "If he's late like he normally is…" Neji commented.

"Relax Hyuuga," Sasuke spoke up, "Kakashi-sensei may have a bad track record at showing up on time for meetings, but for important missions like this one he is always serious."

Ten minutes later, only a few minutes after they were suppose to meet, Kakashi showed up. "Here," Kakashi threw the two a couple of odd kunais, "These are special kunais that my sensei gave to me. They have a special jutsu on them that alerts other members of the team to when and where it is thrown."

"Why are you giving us these?" Neji asked.

"In case we get separated," Kakashi replied, "I've got a bad feeling about this mission. Incase we get separated throw it and the others will track you down."

"Why are you on edge so early?" Sasuke asked.

"About a month or so ago one of Suna's top shinobi disappeared from the village," Kakashi explained.

"What's so strange about that?" Neji asked.

"It was the shinobi that left is what has me troubled," Kakashi, said, "It was rumored that the one that left was one of the Kazekage's children. And it is also rumored that the child hated his father and was quite powerful. The shinobi could become a threat to the mission."

"By taking one of us and impersonating him in order to get to the Kazekage," Neji finished. "But is he that strong?" Neji knew his teammates were like him, genius shinobi and highly skilled.

"He may be stronger than all three of us put together," Kakashi said bluntly, "So keep on your guard at all times." The two younger shinobi nodded and they headed out.

After about two days of traveling the three shinobi left the forests of Fire Country and entered the grasslands that would soon turn to the desert of Sand Country. Deciding it would best to take a break before they entered the harsh environment of Sand they stopped to make camp for the day. "You two knew Uzumaki before he disappeared correct?" Neji asked.

"Yes he was on my Gennin team," Sasuke answered.

"Worried about your cousin Neji-san?" Kakashi said with a playful glint in his eye.

Whether it affected the Hyuuga progeny or not there was no indication, "I was merely wondering if he had the potential as a Gennin."

"Naruto was the dobe of our year," Sasuke answered. "But you of all people should know that isn't a test of a shinobi's potential." Neji nodded remembering his misconception of people considered dead last at the academy only to prove to be among the strongest ones later. "Well before our last mission together," Sasuke continued, "He lived up to the placement. Even during the mission I had to save him."

"But after that Naruto started to show what he was capable of," Kakashi joined in. "I became trapped in a water prison but due to Sasuke and Naruto's team work I was set free."

"It was Naruto's plan that allowed it to happen," Sasuke continued, "He used a combination Henge and Kage Bushin to fool the Missing-nin we were fighting to leave him exposed to attack that would either wound him or set Kakashi-sensei free."

"And at the bridge Naruto was able to beat a hunter-nin class shinobi on his own after Sasuke was incapacitated," Kakashi finished.

Neji nodded, "I remember over hearing Sakura tell Lee about that during one of their training sessions. And after the fight that's when he disappeared for two years coming back at the same level as us."

"He may be even stronger," Kakashi said. The two younger shinobi fixed their gaze on him, "Remember that match was interrupted and judging from the training he described we may only seen a glimpse of what he can do." After several minutes of silence that followed Kakashi spoke again, "Back to the mission. Neither of you have been in a large desert before so there are some things you should remember." Once again the attention was fixed on Kakashi, "First, we'll only be traveling at night, even to Suna ninja the desert can be to harsh during the day. Second, when we rest drink plenty of water, dehydration is a greater risk then even chakra depletion. And third, don't take anything for granted, the sand of the desert can conceal an enemy better that anything else." The two nodded in confirmation and they all turned in for the night.

It took the three Konoha shinobi another three days from when they stopped to reach Suna. True to Kakashi's word the desert put more strain on them than any other environment they had encountered. As they approached the cliffs that surrounded Suna they were met with several Jounin. One in particular stuck out among the rest. He was wearing all black and had purple face paint, he stepped forward, "Identify yourselves!"

"Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji of Konoha, here to request a diplomatic meeting with the Kazekage," Kakashi said showing the Suna shinobi their passports as well as the diplomatic scroll the Hokage gave them.

"Very well follow me," the one with the face paint said.

Not long after the three from Konoha entered the Kage office. They were ushered into a room when suddenly they became restrained by paralyzing jutsus inscribed on the wall within the room. "Now we'll see if you're who you say you are," a man wearing the Kazekage robes said. He performed several hand seals and several more jutsus began to glow. The three began to feel chakra flow through them for several minutes until it suddenly stopped. The next thing the three knew they were able to stand and the Kazekage stepped forward, "I apologize for the ruff treatment, but there have some security breaks in the past week."

"Completely understandable Kazekage-sama," Kakashi answered. In truth they were expecting more than just a paralyzing jutsu and some chakra passing through their bodies. The chakra that passed through did not even hurt, and after taking a quick glance noting that the jutsus were very specific the test was designed to detect a specific person not just someone in disguise.

"I am sure you are here to discuss the recent alliance between Cloud and Stone," the Kazekage said. Not waiting for answer the Kazekage continued, "I can assure we already know of the possible threat and wish to share any information we have between our allies."

"As do we Kazekage-sama," Kakashi nodded.

"Then let us discuss this in my office," the Kazekage then left the room followed soon after the by Kakashi and the others.

As the meeting progressed information about what each other knew about the alliance between Cloud and Stone was exchanged. It appeared that both had about the same amount of information, that was until the Kazekage mentioned, "And to the rumors about a silent third party?"

"We have yet to confirm if those rumors were true, Kazekage-sama," Kakashi replied.

"I see," the Kazekage nodded, "Now onto the matter at hand."

"Can we count on Suna's support in the event of an attack?" Kakashi asked.

"Konoha and Suna's treaty says that if one were to be attacked by more than one other shinobi village then the other will come to the village's aide," the Kazekage answered. "If Konoha is attacked by Cloud and Stone, then we will come to your aide."

"I am sure Hokage-sama will be glad to hear that," Kakashi bowed.

"Kankuro!" the Kazekage called, the same Jounin that met them at the entrance opened the door.

"Yes Kazekage-sama?" Kankuro asked.

"Show our friends from Konoha a place where they may rest before they go back home," the Kazekage ordered.

"Yes fath…Kazekage-sama," Kankuro said. "Please follow me." The three from Konoha stood and followed him out of the Kazekage's office.

Kankuro took them to a hotel close by. Once they were checked in and settled in their room all three made a search with their enhanced eyes. Not surprising they each found a jutsu that was used for spying in the room. Whether or not they were activated they could not tell, but not taking any chances Kakashi began to use sigh language that was used exclusively by Konoha Anbu. "I don't think we can count on their support," Kakashi signed.

"I agree," Neji returned, though not an Anbu like the other two were, they had given him lessons, so that he could follow and contribute to the conversation, on the way there. "Seemed…stress…more than one…treaty."

"True," Susuke signed, "He made it clear that the treaty only applied to incase more that one village attacked."

"I do not believe we should trust the Kazekage," Kakashi added. "We should leave soon and get back to Konoha."

"I…one…watch," Neji volunteered. The other two had no objections and got some sleep.

The next day's evening the three packed their supplies and were about to leave when Kankuro and a blond female shinobi walked up, "Kazekage-sama sends his regards and wishes you a safe return," Kankuro said. "Temari."

The blond female stepped forward, "He has also seen to give you this a gesture of good will." She handed Sasuke what appeared to be a small technique scroll and stepped back.

"We thank you for you hospitality," Kakashi said, "But considering the recent events I believe we should make haste." The two Suna shinobi nodded and the three from Konoha left.

After they were a safe distance from Suna, Kakashi said, "Let's check the scroll before we go too much further."

"As soon as she gave it to me I checked it with my Sharingan," Sasuke said. "There appears to be a Genjutsu placed on it. But the strange thing is, I don't get the feeling it's dangerous."

"Open it," Kakashi ordered, "But be on guard just in case."

Sasuke nodded and opened the scroll. As he did, Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan and Neji activated his Byakugan. To those without special eyes it would appear that the scroll contained two mid-level wind jutsus. But with his Sharingan activated Sasuke was able to see the wording placed under the Genjutsu. "It's a note," Sasuke said puzzled.

"What does it say?" Neji asked.

Sasuke then read the note out loud, "'To the Konoha shinobi, when you cross the desert be careful, because our brother, Garra, is out there. He has the power to control the sand itself and is very dangerous to those he sees as enemies. He is currently targeting the Kazekage for trying to kill him. And if you run into him tell him we're sorry. Also know that not all Suna ninjas agree with the Kazekage.'" After Sasuke finished reading the note he asked, "Why would they worn us about this Garra and about the Kazekage?"

"From the look on that Kankuro's face I would say that he did not like Kazekage very much," Neji said. "If the note is at all accurate then he would be one of the ones that would not agree with the Kazekage."

"Either way we should be on the look out," Kakashi warned, "I do not believe it would be wise for us to stop until we reach the Fire border." The other two nodded in agreement and they ran towards home.

Two more days pasted and they were about to leave the Country of Sand when several sharpened poles fell from the sky. Fortunately the three Konoha ninjas were alert enough and avoid the attack. "Just what I would expect from three legendary figures such as yourselves!" a voice said to the right.

Sasuke, Neji and Kakashi took a defensive position activating their eyes, "Rain-nins. How many?" Kakashi asked.

"Four," Sasuke responded

"Fourteen," Neji answered

"Three," Kakashi finished. "Are you counting all that you can see Neji?"

"Yes," Neji answered.

"Seventeen in total," Sasuke concluded. "Not a good match up."

The Rain-nins moved forward and surrounded the three. The one who spoke earlier stepped forward, "You're not going any further."

"We'll see," Kakashi answered. The three then began their attack. They were fighting Jounin level shinobi so they knew they would be in for rather difficult fight. Kakashi took the apparent leader and the two next to him. Sasuke moved toward the four off to the right. And Neji stayed in the center and let some of the remainder come to him.

Kakashi pulled out a kunai and began moved directly to the one that he sensed was the strongest. "They have us outnumbered so we need to end this quickly." He quickly formed hand seals calling out, "Kage Kunai no Jutsu!" As he threw his kunai it quickly multiplied into several dozen. The borage of kunai spread, but unfortunately the leader was able to dodge and come away unscathed and the ones around him only got minor wounds at best.

The Rain-nins, knowing that they had the advantage spread out to divide the targets. They were going to take their time letting the shinobi they were facing tire themselves out then move in for the kill. The three that Kakashi attacked countered with several shurikens that he was able to dodge. One anticipating his movement moved in with a kunai and attempted to stab him. Unfortunately for him, Kakashi was able to predict his movements with the Sharingan and stepped into the Rain-nin's path catching him off guard and stabbing him in the throat.

Kakashi then jumped out of the way to avoid a kick from another enemy but the leader attacked the side with his eye closed and was able to land the blow to his side. Another that joined their leader after he saw the one die, attacked by throwing a kunai and though Kakashi was able to see it coming he was not able to dodge completely allowing the kunai to graze his left arm. "This going to be harder than I thought," whispered Kakashi.

Neji waited for the attack to come. With his three-sixty vision he was able to keep track of everyone around him. He saw Kakashi take out one and another moved into replace the one that fell. "Good, one less for me to deal with," he thought. There were six with in striking distance of Neji; the others were either staying back or busy fighting his teammates. Because he was best at fighting multiple opponents he was not too concerned about the number of enemies he was facing. "Their staying out too far for me to hit them with Kaiten. I'll have to wait for them to move in closer."

Four of the Rain shinobi reached for their shuriken and kunai holders while two others reached for their umbrellas on their backs. After the six drew their weapons the two holding the umbrellas threw them into the air. After they reached about three meters overhead they paused and began to spin causing several sharpened poles to fall towards Neji. At the same time the four others threw several kunais and shurikens at Neji.

Seeing the actions the enemy took Neji thought, "Damn can't block or dodge them all. All I can do is," ending his thinking he yelled "**Hakke Shou Kaiten!" His body spun releasing waves of pure chakra stopping the projectiles. When he stopped spinning Neji looked at the enemy and noticed they were not surprised by the attack, in fact it was almost like they anticipated it.**

**Sasuke was busy dodging four opponents' attempts to hit him, as he continually tried to move in close. Against multiple opponents, with his teammates so close, Sasuke decided that using close range attacks would be best. Moving in with his Anbu sword drawn he slashed at one of the shinobi he was fighting. The target had tried to move out of the way and was able to dodge the blade, but to his surprise he still felt a cut and when he looked down he was indeed cut by the sword. Seeing the surprised reaction Sasuke capitalized it and stabbed the enemy critically wounding him. "Thank you Asuma for teaching me to channel chakra into weapons," Sasuke thought, "Unfortunately that will not happen again so easily, they know what to look for now and will be more cautious."**

**Just as Sasuke thought, the Rain-nins jumped back in order to avoid the sword. The three left then began to perform some jutsus forcing Sasuke to sheath his sword to perform his own hand seals to counter. This was all a ruse however as one of the shinobi that were hanging back came up and attacked Sasuke from behind.**

**Feeling a stab to the back Sasuke quickly turned around with a kunai he drew and stabbed the one that got him in the arm. "Their teamwork is impressive." Redrawing his sword Sasuke charged in once again.**

**The battle continued to for nearly an hour. And thought the three from Konoha were able to kill or knock out five of their enemies, they had paid the price themselves. Neji had to use several Kaitens and was running low of chakra. Sasuke sustained several blows from kunais while trying to get in close with his sword. Kakashi suffered from many blows as he fought the leader and his partners. Eventually the three regrouped to rethink their strategy. "They seem to know out moves," Neji said.**

**"Could they have been studying us?" Sasuke asked.**

**"Probably," Kakashi answered, "But it's more to it than that. They know the strengths and weaknesses of our eyes."**

**"How could they have known that?" Sasuke asked.**

**"Because I told them," a man stepped up from the edge. He moved closer and was holding what appeared to be a sword handle in his right hand.**

**"Aoi," Kakashi said, "So the traitor finally shows himself after so many years."**

**"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke called, "Who is this guy?"**

**"He's a traitor from Konoha that stole the Raijin Sword that belonged to the Second Hokage," answered Kakashi.**

**"That's right," Aoi said, "And with the information I passed to the Raikage about Konoha, we will finish all of you."**

"What do we do?" Neji asked. "We're low on chakra, out numbered and fighting someone that is familiar with our tactics."

"In this situation it would be best to try and make it to the border," Sasuke said.

"We need to punch a hole in the circle," Kakashi said.

"The one on the left is the weakest," Neji informed.

"Your left it is then," Kakashi said. The three made a break for the Neji's left in order to try and get away. In the process the had dropped and set off several flash bangs to confuse the enemy ninjas. They approached the one Neji pointed out and with a punch from Kakashi and Sasuke they were able to break out of the circle.

After recovering from the brief disorientation from the flash bangs, Aoi saw that they knocked out a person off to his right and were making a running from them. "No you don't!" Aoi activated the Raijin and charged the three with the other Rain shinobi behind him.

A head of them Neji still had the Byakugan activated and called out "Duck!" as several kunai and shuriken were thrown at them. With Neji's advanced warning they were able to avoid the attack but that diversion was just what the Rain-nins needed to catch up to the Leaf-nins.

"Never thought you would run from a fight Kakashi," Aoi taunted. Kakashi did not respond except to take a defensive posture. "Kill them before they try anything else!" The Rain shinobi were going to attack when suddenly they all were stopped because their feet became immobile. "What!" Everyone looked down at the Rain-nin's feet and noticed sand firmly holding them in place.

"The desert is mine," came a monotone voice. Those that could move turned to see a teenager about Sasuke and Neji's age with a gourd on his back emerge from the sand. "You have set foot on my sand without permission one too many times, now you will die."

The Rain-nins struggled against the sand as it slowly crawled up their legs. Seeing an opening Kakashi ordered. "Take them!" Not hesitating for a second Neji and Sasuke attacked the Rain-nins that were closest along with Kakashi.

The ones farther back were not as lucky to be killed by the Konoha shinobi, as the sand had already covered their heads. "Sabaku Sou Sou," the new comer said as the sand crushed the remaining Rain-nins. "Leave my desert before I kill you too." He started to walk away when Sasuke spoke up.

"You're Garra, right?" Sasuke asked.

He stopped and the sand began to swirl around him, "How do you know my name?"

"We received a letter from Kankuro and Temari telling us about you," Sasuke told.

The mention of the names caused the sand to stop briefly, "What did they say?" Garra asked.

"All the letter said was to tell you they were sorry," Sasuke answered.

Garra made gave no response but called the sand back into the gourd, "Leave." He then disappeared in a swirl of sand.

"We should had back to Konoha," Kakashi suggested.

"Not without this," Neji said bending down to pick up the Raijin. "I'm sure Hokage-sama will want this back." The others did not say anything and continued their trek back home.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Kakashi, with his two teenage partners, were standing before the Third Hokage telling him their report about their mission to the village of Suna. "Once we arrived at Suna we were taken into a room and placed under a paralyzing jutsus," Kakashi reported. For once he was standing at attention instead of his normal relaxed posture. "Then the Kazekage entered the room and performed some kind of scanning jutsu. Apparently they have been having leaks in their security, however, the scanning jutsu seemed to be designed for a specific person. Once the Kazekage was satisfied with our identities, he took us to his office and we discussed aid from one village to another. After the meeting we rested for the day and left the village. On our way back we encountered Rain-nin including the traitor Aoi that stole the Raijin. We were able to defeat the Rain-nin and recover the Raijin with the help of an apparent Missing-nin from Suna." At this point Neji approached the Hokage and presented the recovered Raijin. The Hokage inspected it, confirming it was his predecessor's weapon.

"And what was discussed during the meeting with the Kazekage?" the Hokage asked.

"During the meeting we exchanged information about the alliance and he asked about the rumors of a third party," Kakashi answered. "I told him that we have not confirmed if there was a third party."

"Very well," the Hokage said. "And what of assistance in case of an attack?"

"I believe that we may only count on aid from Suna, if both Cloud and Stone attack," Kakashi said. "He seemed to stress the part of the treaty that included that one village would come to help the other if more than one enemy village attacked." The Hokage nodded in understanding, "I believe that it should also be noted that it appears that not all Suna shinobi agree with the Kazekage."

"Explain."

"Just before we left we were slipped a message from two Suna shinobi," Kakashi replied. "It was mostly a warning to avoid a Missing-nin named Garra of the Desert. But it also said that there were Suna shinobi that disagreed with the Kazekage. It should also be noted that Garra of the Desert was the one who aided us against the Rain-nin. And I suspect that he is son of the Kazekage that went missing not too long ago and that the two whom handed us the message were also the Kazekage's children."

"Thank you Kakashi," the Hokage said. "You three are off for the next three days then you will return to active duties."

"Yes Hokage-sama!" the three saluted and exited the office. The Hokage sat back and thought, "I was afraid of this, Suna has not been very cooperative in the past few years. But now that we know not to rely on Suna's aid, we can plan around that. All that's left is for Jiraiya and his team to return."

Once the three were outside they split off from one another. Sasuke was walking back to his apartment when he felt someone following him. He concentrated for a moment and then called out, "Your getting better Sakura, you were able to get within six meters this time." He turned and smiled at his pink haired former teammate.

"Still needs work though," Sakura said returning the smile. "Care to join me for something to eat?"

"Ok," Sasuke agreed. Though the only ones who knew, were those closest to them, Sasuke always hated treating Sakura like she never existed when they were younger. So now every time she asked him, out he could never refuse. That and the fact that the two had been officially going out since about six months before Naruto returned.

Tayuya knelt before her master visibly shaking from the report she was giving to Orochinmaru. She told of the events that started with her and her former teammates planning to use a Genjutsu to lure the Hyugga and Shadow Claw away from the others in order to capture them. She then explained how from there everything went from bad to worse. She told Orochimaru of the strange fighting style that Shadow Claw used and how it seemed to be based in Taijutsu but incorporated Ninjutsu in the techniques without the use of had seals. She went on further to explain the mysterious chant he called the Language of Martial Arts, to dramatically increase his chakra output and strength; then combined it with what Shadow Claw called Kamui principle to increase his speed to the point that, even with their Level Two Curse Seals they were unable to even see most of his moves. "And after that the Sannins and the other two Konoha shinobi showed up," she finished.

"And then you retreated," Orochimaru said calmly. Even though his voice did not show it, he was rather angry to hear that three of his Sound Four were defeated and now dead.

Tayuya nodded, "Yes but I was only able to escape because they let me."

"Leave!" Orochimaru ordered, "I will deal with your cowardice latter!" Tayuya did not even respond and just quickly left his sight. Once she was gone he leaned back and thought. Though he was angry at loss, he was also intrigued. Whatever this fighting style was, it was extremely powerful, meaning that he wanted to know even more about it.

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto's voice addressed him. "I have heard from our spies in Konoha. And they say that the village is concentrating on Cloud and Stone and have not been paying much attention to our activities." Orochimaru stayed silent as Kabuto spoke. "But with the recent events that may change as soon as your former teammates return."

"What of Sasuke-kun?" Orochinmaru asked.

"By the time the message was sent he had just arrived in the village and details of his mission are still unknown," Kabuto answered. "I have also retained some more information on whom Shadow Claw really is." Orochimaru glanced at Kabuto indicating his wished for him to continue. "It turns out that he is actually Uzumaki Naruto."

"So the Kyuubi brat is alive," Orochimaru nodded. "Maybe the Demon taught him how to fight and the jutsus he uses are Demonic in origin."

"That is unknown to our spies," Kabuto informed, "He apparently only told those close to him about his time away." He then paused for a moment then asked, "Do you wish the spies to watch him more closely?"

Orochimaru thought for a moment, "Yes and tell them to be on the look out for the organization. Him being alive will reach them soon and they will want him."

"As you wish Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said disappearing from the room.

About a day's travel away from Konoha, Naruto and his group stopped to rest for the night. With the possibility of war looming they were in a rush to get back to the village and traveled almost non-stop. When they finally reached Konoha's territory they decided to stop for a rest. It had taken them a week to get this far and everyone needed the break.

"One more day and we'll be back in Konoha," Naruto said.

"Yes and I for one can't wait to get back," Shizune commented.

"Why is that Shizune-san?" Hinata asked.

"Couple of reasons actually," Shizune answered. "One, I haven't been there in a while and two, I could use a bath. We haven't stopped once at a town and washed up." Everyone around the campsite nodded a little in agreement, they could all use some cleaning up.

"I know we're only a day away," Jiraiya began. "But if you can't wait there's a small stream about fifty meters or so that way," he indicated behind Naruto.

"And just how do you know that there's a stream that close which such accuracy?" Tsunade asked, though she had a good idea.

"Well it's actually a place for good research," Jiraiya smiled.

Slapping his forehead Naruto sighed, "Should have guessed that."

"Well in either case I can't wait," Tsunade announced, "I'm going, girls if you wish to join me you are welcome to come," she then directed a hard gaze at Jiriaya, "And you don't even think about following us."

"He won't," Naruto said evenly. The two other female ninjas nodded in agreement with Tsunade and followed her. Jiraiya watched them go bust made no move. "Don't even think about it," Naruto ordered.

"I wasn't," Jiraiya said, Naruto gave him a look that clearly said he did not believe the Toad Summoner. Jiraiya then sighed; normally, traveling with three lovely ladies he would have loads of inspiration, even at the risk of Tsunade's wrath. But with the combined punishments of Naruto and Tsunade, even he would not press his luck.

Once they were out of sight of camp Tsunade glanced at Hinata and asked, "So just how close are you to Naruto?" It was clear to anyone that Hinata liked him and it was equally clear that Naruto's feelings were growing steadily for her with each passing day.

"We're close friends," Hinata said blushing. "But…" she trailed off as her face turned even redder.

"But you want it to be more," Tsunade smiled when Hinata nodded weakly. In the short time that she knew the two teenagers she had become rather attached to them. And it had little to do with the fact that she seemed to win at cards when Naruto was around, they had played at their brief stops to loose some tension from travel. It was more do to the fact that she saw herself in Hinata and her brother and, on different occasions, former fiancé in Naruto.

"Well I wouldn't be too worried," Shizune joined in, "It's clear that he likes you." She then laughed a little, "It's kind of cute the way he continually threatens Jiraiya when ever he looks at you."

Tsunade laughed as well, "I thought I was the only one who could make Jiraiya sweat like that. He must take the threats very seriously."

When the three girls got back they could detect that Naruto's glare still on Jiraiya. He did not remove it until Hinata came up and touched him on the shoulder. "Welcome back Hinata-chan," he greeted, "Feeling better?"

"Yes Naruto-kun," she answered. She then sat down next to him and got comfortable by leaning against him. She had decided after Tsunade and Shizune told her that Naruto likes her, she would be a bit more active not wanting to loose another chance. Naruto for his part stiffened slightly when Hinata leaned against him, but soon relaxed when he glance at her and saw a smile of her face.

After a few minutes of silence Tsunade spoke up, "Hinata," she said getting the teenager's attention, "Why did you decided to become a medical-nin."

Hinata sat up to answer, "When I thought Naruto died," she glanced at him with only the briefest of a sad expression, "I wanted to do everything in my power to save my friends. And after I became a Chunin I dedicated myself to the medical field."

"Well I must say you choose wisely in becoming a medic," Shizune said, "That healing cream of yours is excellent work."

"When we get back I can take you under me and give you some pointers if you'd like," Tsunade added. "I am also impressed with your skill."

"It would be an honor Tsunade-sama," said a stunned Hinata.

"What impresses me is her fighting style," Jiraiya commented, "Combining the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist with medical Taijutsu has produced a very effective fighting style."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "You really helped me back there with the Sound ninjas."

"Speaking of which," Tsunade said, "It appears that Orochimaru has taken an interest in your Shadow Skill. He's a fanatic when it comes to learning unknown powers."

"You don't have to worry about that," Naruto said, "There is only one way for him to learn Shadow Skill and that is for me to teach him. Something I will never do."

"But if he captures you," Jiraiya added, "He could learn from by dissecting your body."

"He may be able to learn how I gather chakra," Naruto admitted, "But he will never know the techniques. The master showing them and extensive practice from the apprentice can only pass them. And even then he would never learn the final secrets."

"What about the one that taught you?" Jiraiya asks.

"There is no one that can harm Darkness," Naruto scoffed. "I don't think he even exists in this reality."

"I agree with Naruto," Tsunade said. "From the stories the First Hokage told me, Darkness only shows himself to those he wishes. Orochimaru wouldn't even be able to find him." Jiraiya nodded in acceptance and let the issue drop. After about another hour of light conversation everyone decided to turn in for the night.

The next day the five shinobi came into view of the main gates and were greeted by three Chunins. When the Chunins recognized Jiraiya and Tsunade the immediately sent word to the Hokage and leapt down to greet two of the Legendary Three. "Welcome back to Konoha, Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama." One then turned to the other three, "And to you as well Hyuuga-san and Shizune-san." His lack of greeting to Naruto would have been hard to miss even for a deaf person.

"I believe you missed a person," A voice from behind the Chunin called. Everyone turned to see a young pink haired Jounin standing inside the interior of the wall.

"It's alright Sakura-chan," Naruto said, "I really don't think we have time for pleasantries."

Sakura nodded then said, "The Hokage is currently meeting with the Village Elders and will speak with you when he is done."

"Good," Tsunade said with sweet voice, "I'm going to have to insist that some of the gate guards be demoted for not being very observant." She spoke loud enough for the Chunin who greeted them to hear.

"I agree," Jiraiya spoke, "I think I'll recommend that too, they can't seem to count either and that makes them too stupid to be Chunins. In fact I'll recommend that they be dismissed as shinobi entirely. But enough of this we should be moving."

Behind them the Chunin had turned completely pale from hearing the Sannins' conversation. One of the other guards walked up to him saying, "Looks like they seem to like him, and you just made a big mistake by insulting him." The now even paler Chunin did not respond as the other guard walked away and returned to duty.

Author's note

Sorry for the short chapter but I've had some writer's block on how to lead to the next part of the story.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

After the two Sannins arrived it did not take long for word to spread among the population of the village of their return. As a result, an impromptu calibration occurred. The celebration, because of lack of preparation time, mostly consisted of small street parties around various parts of the village. Many of the citizens felt relieved from the threat the war on the horizon. With two of the Legendary Sannins in the village many felt confident in the village's safety. The small parties went away after the third day, but what remained in its place was a more relaxed atmosphere for the civilians that had not been in place for several weeks. The shinobi, however, were still on guard; many believed that the appearance of the Sannins showed that the village was in for a hard time very soon. But the shinobi were also joyous to have them back; well except a couple of gate guards that were demoted or dismissed the day after they arrived.

Of all the people in the village none were more relieved for the Sannins return than the Hokage himself. He was glad for the return of his former pupils and the support they brought. He was dismayed when he heard of attack on Naruto and Hinata by the Sound shinobi. "So the attack confirms your suspicions about Orochimaru being the head of Sound."

"Yeah," Jiraiya stated, "I've had my subsections for some time now but I had nothing concrete. That is until I saw the Curse Seal on the Sound ninja that attacked us not long after we left.

"And he's also interested in learning Naruto's Shadow Skill," Tsunade added.

"He's probably interested in the style because he has never heard of anything like it before," the Hokage commented.

"Naruto may have caught his eye but I still believe that he is interested in getting the Sharingan," Jiraiya said. "And because he can't get one from Itachi, that only leaves one person left."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade added, "We should tell both of those kids to be on guard. They can take care of themselves but Orochimaru might take the war as an opportunity to take them."

"Agreed," the Hokage nodded, "I'll have Kakashi tell them after the meeting. Now on to the real matter at hand." He paused looking directly at Tsunade, "I have decided that you should be the Fifth Hokage."

Tsunade just nodded, "Jiraiya told me as much. And I have to say you played a rather dirty trick to get me to come back. But I do accept the position"

"I know," the Third Hokage said with some regret in his voice, "But it needed to be done. Now, we'll announce the decision to the village after you have settled in again. Then we will prepare for the ceremony after that."

"Are you sure it's wise to have a public ceremony?" Jiraiya asked.

"Cloud and Stone will most likely know that you have returned," the Hokage replied, "The ceremony is to show that we now have a strong leader ready to guide our forces."

"So it's as much for outsiders as it is for the village," Jiraiya mused.

"Correct," the Hokage confirmed.

"Well then I guess I should go relax as much as I can," Tsunade said standing, "Because it doesn't look like I will be able to in the near future." She made her way to the door and just as she was about to exit she turned and said, "The first thing I do after I officially become the Fifth is to upgrade the hospital, we'll need it." She then looked directly at Jiraiya, "And the second thing I do is make peeping in on the women's bath a capital crime."

After she left the room Jiraiya turned to ask, "She can't do that, right?"

"Let me just say that you should get yourself a more powerful telescope so you can be farther away before the ceremony," the Hokage answered.

Naruto was at the training grounds he used before when he was preparing for his evaluation. He was busy kicking a tree stump that had an indention of about six inches into the wood. He stopped mid kick then he asked, "Something you need Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi made his appearance behind Naruto commenting, "I guess I should stop trying to sneak up on you." He spoke with an easily recognizable smile in his voice. "Actually I'm here to give you a message from the Hokage."

"What is it? Another mission?" Naruto asked, dropping his leg and turning to Kakashi.

"No," Kakashi answered seriously, "It does not take a genius to see that war is coming." Naruto nodded agreeing with Kakashi, "And you should know that there are people that find you unique, and there are always people whom want unique people."

"If you're talking about Orochimaru," Naruto interrupted, "I already know, Ero-Sannin and Tsunade-babba warned me about him."

"Good," Kakashi responded, "But you should still be on you guard, there may be others after you, word of your abilities is already spreading and a war is the perfect distraction for someone to come after you."

"I'll be careful Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said returning to his training.

Kakashi looked at the sky to determine the time. "Sasuke is still on patrol," he thought. "I guess I'll tell him later." Kakashi knew that only a direct summons from the Hokage should be the only reason to interrupt an Anbu's patrol. He knew from personal experience from his time in the Anbu ranks.

After Kakashi left, Naruto continued with his training with a doubled effort. If a war was coming he knew that he would have to be as strong as possible for the fights to come. After about three hours he took a break from his training and looked at the sky. He noticed that the sun was about half way over the western portion of the sky. "Damn I almost forgot I asked Hinata-chan out!" he thought aloud. Ever since the mission to find Tsunade Naruto knew that he really liked her. And decided that once they got back to the village he would ask her out. It took him over two days to finally get the courage to ask her out. "And then I nearly forget. I better go get cleaned up for tonight."

On his way back to his apartment he became lost in thought. He was having trouble deciding what he should do. After all not having any experience in this field Naruto had no idea what to expect. He was so lost in thought that whenever he bumped into someone he did not even mumble an apology. So when he turned the corner he bumped in to some one and continued past. That is until he heard them call his name, "Hey Naruto!" he stopped at his name and turned to see Sakura picking herself up off the ground. "What are you thinking bumping into me and not even apologizing nor helping me up?"

"Oh I'm sorry Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "I just have a lot on my mind and I'm afraid I didn't even notice you." He started to turn around when Sakura's voice stopped him again.

"Thinking about Hinata," Sakura stated.

Naruto jerked around seeing the smile on him former teammate's face, "How did you know?"

"You were mumbling about where to take her tonight," Sakura smiled broadened. "So you finally asked her out?" Naruto, completely embarrassed, nodded his head. "Took you long enough. She's had a thing for you ever since the Academy." Naruto nodded again in conformation, he knew though only because Hinata had told him not long after he returned to the village, "So what's the problem?"

"Well, I'm not to sure what I should do?" Naruto admitted.

"Well I can suggest one thing," Sakura said.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Don't take her out for ramen," Sakura answered.

"Why not?" Naruto asked confused.

"Because even though you like it," Sakura began "The date isn't about the guy doing what he wants, it's about pleasing the girl," Sakura informed him. "You should take her to a place that she would prefer."

"Yeah I guess that's right," Naruto said, "But the truth is, I really don't know what she likes." Naruto sighed then looked up and asked, "Do you know what kind of things she likes?"

"I know she likes this restaurant near the administration office," Sakura answered. "I've eaten there as well, they have some good food and the place is rather intimate as well." She smiled briefly remembering one her dates with Sasuke. "I also know she likes spending time outside near the forest as well, I heard her say something about liking to watch fireflies."

Naruto thought for a moment then a large smile formed, "Thanks Sakura-chan I know exactly what to do now." Naruto then turned and walked the short distance to his apartment.

"Finally asked her out I see," Sasuke's voice spoke from behind Sakura. "About time he did."

"You're one to talk Sasuke," Kakashi said as he joined them, "How long did it take for you to ask Sakura out." Sasuke frowned at Kakashi but Kakashi ignored it, "I've got a message from the Hokage…"

After Naruto went home, got cleaned up and changed; he made his way toward the Hyuuga estate. He had been here before on a few occasions, but never went inside the gates. When he approached two Hyuugas opening the gates, "Uzumaki-sama," the one on the left greeted him "Hyuuga-sama wishes to see you. Please follow me."

Naruto nodded silently following his guide. But in his thoughts he was wondering, "Why did he address me as 'sama'?"

After a few minutes Naruto was led to the largest house on the grounds. Naruto had to resist gazing around him in astonishment, he had never seen such refinement and care to grounds than inside the Hyuuga estate. Once they entered the largest house Naruto's guide knocked on a door and opened it. "Hyuuga-sama, Uzumaki-sama has arrived."

He then stepped aside and Naruto stepped forward, "Very well," Hiashi responded, "Leave us." The Hyuuga that brought Naruto first bowed to Hiashi then to Naruto and left. "Sit," Hiashi calmly ordered gesturing to a position across from him. Naruto complied and sat down in the lotus position facing the Hyuuga head. Naruto was nervous sitting in front of Hiashi but did everything in his power not to show it. He waited patiently for the Hyuuga to speak. Unfortunately for Naruto, Hiashi made no move nor spoke for several minutes. During the entire time he was evaluating Naruto, when he met him a number of weeks ago, Hiashi was somewhat surprised by his actions. Now he was going to get a better idea on what kind of person Naruto was. After the long quite Hiashi finally spoke, "Hinata will be ready soon, you may wait for her in the common room."

Naruto blinked for a moment. "Yes Sir," he stood, bowed and exited the room. When Naruto left he was greeted by a female Hyuuga that showed him the common room. Once he arrived he thought about the meeting with Hinata's father. He was not expecting what had happened. In fact he was expecting an entire interrogation from the man. Unknown to Naruto, the silent observations that Hiashi made told him more about the kind of person Naruto was than any conversation they could have had.

Like everyone in Konoha, Hiashi knew about Naruto's loud and annoying personality when he was younger. And that kind of person was totally unworthy of his daughter in Hiashi's eyes. The young man that stood sat before him earlier was far from the previous image he had of Naruto. The Naruto, although nervous, showed patients and respect just by sitting and waiting for Hiashi to speak. The Hyuuga head had already heard of Naruto's strength from the reports he had access to, because he was part of the village council. And because of his position he was also one of the few people that were told that the Kyuubi was no longer sealed inside Naruto. This meant that he had no worries about the beast breaking loose either. All this combined for him to have a rather high impression of the young Jounin.

Back with Naruto he had been left alone for a few moments when he felt a set of eyes upon him. Glancing around the room with his eyes, he found the source of sensation coming from his right. Recognizing the feeling he asked, "How are you Hanabi-chan?"

Hinata's little sister did not answer as she entered the room, but instead asked a question of her own, "So are you my sister's boyfriend now?"

"I guess I am," Naruto answered with nervous smile.

"Well you better not hurt her," Hanabi stated.

Before Naruto could answer he felt another presence enter the room. The presence that came in had become very familiar to him over the last couple of weeks, it belonged to Hinata. Turning to greet his date he was stunned by her appearance. Hinata was wearing black silk long-sleeved shirt that ended just below her waist that reaching just over her dress. Her dress was also made of black silk that reached to just above her ankles. A pair of dark blue shoes and a matching belt, which was positioned at her waist just above where her shirt ended, finished the outfit off. And though the outfit was loose on her, it still accented her figure nicely. The only word that Naruto could come up with was, "Goddess." For to him it looked as though the girl in front of him, came directly from the heavens.

Hinata hearing Naruto's comment blushed deeply, "Thank you Naruto-kun."

Hinata's voice brought Naruto out of his trance and he suggested, "Shall we go." Hinata nodded and joined him and the two left the room. Hanabi, who had been forgotten, watched as they left the room smiling at the their reactions.

The two shinobi walked the distance to the restaurant Sakura had mentioned. Hinata was surprised that Naruto knew about it because she had never seen him there before, but made no mention of it. When the two entered the saw that it was not very crowded and were seated momentarily. Once they were seated Naruto took a moment to glance at the surroundings, Sakura was correct, the place had an aura that just seemed to bring you closer to person you were with, "I'll have to thank her for the advise latter." After his observation the two ordered their meals. Hinata ordered the sashimi and Naruto said he would have the same. He figured since he could not have ramen he would have whatever Hinata thought was good.

The meal came not long after they ordered and the two ate in silence, simply enjoying the other's company. After the meal the conversation was light, both talking about old times at the Academy and laughing at some of Naruto's pranks. After the bill was paid they left the restaurant. Once out side Hinata spoke, "Thank you for tonight Naruto-kun."

"You're welcome Hinata-chan," Naruto said. "But it's not over yet. There's something I'd like to show you."

Curious Hinata asked, "What is it Naruto-kun?"

"You'll see," Naruto smiled, "It's actually not far." He then led her away for the restaurant and into a small-forested area near by. Not wanting to ruin her clothes Naruto picked Hinata up saying "Hold on, it's just a little ways into the woods." Hinata complied by rapping her arms around his neck.

After about five minutes Naruto, still carrying Hinata in his arms, entered a small clearing near small pond. The silver light of moon reflected off the water, that combining with several flickering lights from several fireflies left the clearing with an ethereal setting. "This is beautiful," Hinata said, almost completely stunned.

"You should see it on a full moon," Naruto commented carrying her over to a fallen tree. "When the moon is full you can see almost perfect reflections on the surface of the pond, with the fireflies that are always here it looks like there's dance going on between the starts and lights from them."

Hinata looked at Naruto as he stared at the pond for several moments noticing the sad look in his eyes. Finally she had to ask, "How did you know about this place Naruto-kun?"

Naruto did not respond at first, but soon in a low voice he responded, "I found this place once when I was kid. It became the place I would come when the villagers got to me. It was where I could be alone when I was upset. It always calmed me down." She could not think anything to say, so Hinata's only response was to pull Naruto into a loving embrace and rest her head on his shoulder. Naruto in response leaned his head lightly against hers and rapped his arms around her shoulder. They then silently watched the pond and fireflies dance with the stars.

After about an hour Naruto carried Hinata out of the clearing and took her back home. Outside the gates to the Hyuuga compound Naruto decided to act on an impulse and brought Hinata closer and gently kissed her on the lips. Only a few seconds passed and the two separated. After looking him in the eyes with nothing but joy Hinata turned and entered her family's estate. On opposite sides of the walls the two were both thinking the same thing. "No matter what, I'll never forget this night."

The next day Naruto was awakened earlier than normal by a loud pounding on his door. When he went to answer it he was greeted by Sasuke. "Report to the Hokage's office. He wants all Jounin and Anbu there, and that means you too."

"Why?" Naruto asked in level tone. He had a feeling he would not like the answer.

"The team that was sent to Cloud returned last night." Naruto nodded and went to get dressed. He was right he did not like the answer.

Upon arriving with Sasuke, Naruto noticed that the two Sannins stood behind the Hokage with the investigation team in front and several Jounin and Anbu lined up facing them. Taking their positions, they stood at attention waiting for the Hokage to begin. "Kurenai, Genma and Aoba have returned. They came back to inform us that Cloud is gathering their forces and will be here with in the week. We must begin preparations for war."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Naruto stood patiently as the three Jounins that were sent to Cloud informed the assembled group of the forces they were to expect. "From the information that we have obtained the attack planned on the village will take place with in the week," Kurenai said. "We were unable to determine which country will be attacking first."

"So that means we will have to divide our forces to cover a two front war," a Jounin spoke up.

"That is a fair conclusion," the Hokage said. "Please continue Kurenai."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Kurenai complied. "But we suspect that they will attack only as one village."

"Why is that?" another Jounin asked.

"Because they aware of the treaty between Konoha and Suna," Jiraiya answered. "They know that the treaty states that the village will only come to the aid the other if more than one village attacks either Konoha or Suna."

"So we suspect that they will attack in waves," Genma joined in. "First, one village will attack then retreat and the other will follow up. It's a way to keep the pressure on us and still attack with only one village at a time, thus keeping Suna out of the fight."

"As stated earlier we will have to divide our forces to counter attack on two fronts," the Hokage took over. "Jiraiya and Tsunade will each take command of forces at each border. The forces will be made mostly of Chunin and Anbu, there will also be a few Jounins assigned as the field commanders. Most of the Jounins will remain in the village as back up incase there is a diversion and the enemy attack the village directly as their first target. As a result of the formations, each of the three areas will have 'Runner Squads,' the squads sole purpose will be to send messages to the other forces and will be the most important of the duties. If no messages can be sent between the forces than one can be easily become isolated and destroyed." The Hokage stopped to gauge the reactions of those present; every person in the room had face like stone, "That is all for now, report to the administration office to receive your individual assignments."

"Yes Hokage-sama!" came a chorus reply from the assembled shinobi.

As everyone filled out Sasuke and Sakura soon joined up with Naruto. "So what assignment do you think you two will get?" Naruto asked.

"I'll be at the front lines," Sasuke said, "They said that the front lines will be made up of mostly Anbu and Chunin that combined with my Sharingan it will be the most logical choice."

"I'm pretty sure I'll be left in the village," Sakura stated, "I may be a Jounin but I don't have much experience leading squads."

"The real wild card out of us is you Naruto," Sasuke said. "You're powerful enough to be at the front lines, but have no experience leading. Your fast enough and have the stamina required to be a Runner but…"

"Runners will require trust in your teammates," Naruto finished, "I'm still not all that trusted by a lot of people." Naruto then thought for a minute, "I wonder what assignment Hinata-chan will get?"

"They'll probably have her up at the front lines," Kakashi answered as he joined his former students. "She has experience with battle field medicine and is quite the capable fighter."

"What about you Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, "Where do you think you'll be placed?"

"Hard to say," Kakashi answered. "But I'm guessing either a Runner or be at the village. They'll still want Jounins with experience back at the village." Kakashi then stopped forcing the other three to stop as well. "No matter what assignment you get always be on alert. Especially you two," he pointed at Sasuke and Naruto, "You both know that you're being targeted by some powerful people. And one more thing, from experience I know that losses are inevitable. That means you will probably see some of your friends and comrades die. The battle field is no place to mourn the lost, there will be plenty of time afterwards so don't get distracted." The three gave an affirmative nod and continued on their path to administration office.

Naruto stepped out of the administration office with his assignment in hand. He was one of the last to receive his orders among the Jounins. Sakura and Sasuke got the assignments they figured they would. Sakura would stay in the village as a gate guard. Sasuke would be at the front line near the border with Stone under Jiraiya's command. Kakashi did not get what he assumed, it turned out that he would be at the front lines under Tsunade's command. Naruto was about to look at his assignment once again when a voice stopped him, "Naruto-kun did you get your assignment?"

Naruto turned to the voice and noticed it came from Hinata. When he saw her he immediately smiled, "Yeah, turns out I'm going to be a Runner stationed here in the village. Apparently they want people with a lot of speed, power and stamina as the village Runners incase the need to break through a siege line around the village."

"I think it was a wise decision Naruto-kun," Hinata said.

"Thanks Hinata-chan," Naruto replied, "So what about you do you know where you'll be going?"

"Not yet," Hinata answered. "I should get my assignment soon though." No sooner than she finished her sentence her name was called.

"I'll wait here for you," Naruto said. Hinata nodded and went up to the assignment desk. It only took a few minutes for her to return. When she got back Naruto asked, "Well?"

"I'll be at the front lines under Jiraiya-sama," Hinata said reading her assignment paper.

"That means you'll be with Sasuke," Naruto said. Hinata only nodded in response. Silently Naruto was glad she would be on the same force with Sasuke. He knew that his friend would do everything in his power to protect her. "Why don't we go get something to eat and relax, tomorrow they'll shipping everyone out."

"Ok Naruto-kun," Hinata replied and the new couple went off.

The next day Naruto stood at the main gates with Sakura by his side. They were there to see their friends and loved ones off, like many of those staying in the village. Tsunade's forces left just before and to the surprise of many Naruto and her gave each other their best wishes and promised to come back alive. It was now time for Jiraiya's force to leave and Sasuke and Hinata greeted Naruto and Sakura. After the two pairs said their good bys Naruto went off to the side with his best friend. "Don't worry Dobe I'll take care of Hinata."

"Thanks Bastard," Naruto replied, "And the same goes to you, I'll take care of Sakura-chan." Sasuke nodded in thanks and left to rejoin his team.

Not far away Sakura and Hinata had made similar promises as well. When Naruto came to Sakura's side he got one last look at Hinata before she left with the rest of the medics that were going. "I hope they'll be alright," Sakura commented as she watched the last group leave.

"I wouldn't worry Sakura-chan," Naruto assured. "Their both very strong and can take care of themselves." Sakura turned and smiled at Naruto's assurance. Inside of Naruto's mind however he could not help but have a bad feeling about the next week.

After the gates closed every one began to disperse including the two friends, "I should go begin my patrols," Sakura said.

"And I should me up with my Runner Squad," Naruto said.

Not long after Naruto left Sakura, he went to spot where he was to meet his team. As he approached, he hoped that he would be with people that he could work well with. The first person he came upon had their back turned to him. He appeared to be a Chunin with his hair tied in a ponytail at the back. "Guess you're the first one here," Naruto commented. The Chunin turned around and a recognizable horizontal scar across his face appeared, Naruto smiled, "Iruka-sensei, guess that means we'll be on the same team."

"Looks like Naruto," Iruka greeted in return.

"But I thought all the Chunins were to be at the front," Naruto said.

"Most of the Chunins, yes," Iruka confirmed. "But a few were selected to remain in the village or be Runners. I was selected to do both."

"But why?" Naruto asked.

Iruka was about to answer when a deep voice spoke for him, "Because he is quick and very good at henge."

The two shinobi turned to the voice to see two more people approach. Both were surprised to a middle aged man with pale eyes and long dark hair along with a boy about Naruto's age wearing a green body suit. "Hyuuga-sama?" Iruka asked with surprise. "I thought one such as yourself would be part of the village defense force not a Runner."

"I was selected because of my experience in the Anbu squads," came Hiashi's answer. "Now down to business. I'm sure you know the Rock Lee here," he said pointing to the teenager to his right. "I will explain our duty and chain of command. We will be responsible for the messages that will be sent to Tsunade-sama's forces. We were chosen for our individual skills. Lee for his speed and power, Iruka for his henge incase of stealth, Naruto also for his speed and power and me for my leadership." He glanced at his three new subordinates and saw they nodded in agreement, "Now Naruto, although you are ranked as a Jounin, Iruka will be the second in command. The reason for this is because he was much more experience than you. You will be on equal level with Lee unless both Iruka and myself are incapacitated. Is that understood."

"Yes Sir," all three answered.

"Our duties will not begin until Tsunade's forces are in position," Hiashi informed. "And that will not happed until at least tomorrow. So until then you are on your own time. But I suggest you get some rest while you can. And remember to stay in contact with each other. I'll be with the Hokage at his office incase word comes in." With that he turned and walked off with out another word.

"Naruto I hope you don't take it the wrong way that I'm your commander," Iruka said.

"Don't worry about Iruka-sensei," Naruto waved it off, "He's got a point, experience is more important than rank right now."

"Hyuuga-sama told us we are on our own for now and we should rest," Lee spoke up, "But he also said for us to stay in contact, what should we do?"

"I suggest we stay close together during our times off," Iruka answered. "It will be easier and faster to find us if we are close together. And also, neither of you should do any training, I know you both train a lot but you need to be well rested at any moments' time." The two teenagers nodded in understanding, "So now that that's out of the way, does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?"

Naruto suggested that they go get something good to eat because of the idea that they will have to rely on field rations once their duties start. The others nodded in agreement at this, but when Naruto suggested ramen both denied the suggestion. When asked why, Lee said "I really don't like ramen."

And before Naruto could ask why Iruka simply said, "Not every one likes ramen Naruto. And I'm in the mood for something different right now." He then turned to Lee and asked, "And what do you like?"

"Udon," Lee answered.

"Then I know just the place," Iruka said, "They have a good verity of food, including udon and ramen."

"Well as long as the place has ramen I don't care," Naruto said.

"Then shall we go?" Iruka asked. He got an affirmative nod from both of the others and the three new teammates went off.

The next day the team met up the same place as yesterday. There, Hiashi, informed his team that a Runner Squad arrived late last night and informed the Hokage that they were in position at the border to Cloud. Another team of Runners had already been sent off with a message confirming they received the message. As a result the team was to be put on stand-by incase anything happened. So after they got their equipment they were to meet at the Hokage Tower and await orders.

Naruto after returning to his apartment to get his extra equipment made his way to the Hokage Tower. On his way there Sakura stopped him for a brief moment. They only discussed what their current duties were and left it at that. After the exchange Naruto made his way to the Tower. As a result of getting stopped by Sakura he was the last to arrive, fortunately he was still on time and did not receive anything more than a question of why he was last. He answered a Jounin stopped by to discuss his current duties and after that the subject was dropped.

The four were then sent to a room that was designated as the Stand-by room for Runner Squads. There they went about their own devises to pass the time. Hiashi staked our a corner and entered a meditative state; Rock Lee went to the center of the room and began doing simple katas, after he moved some of the furniture of coarse; Iruka went and looked over some of the current students at the Academy, he was still a teacher and after his assignment here he would go back to teaching; and Naruto simply laid down on the couch that Lee had moved to get some sleep. After about three hours Naruto and Hiashi open their eyes and stood up facing the door. Their actions caught the attention of their two other companions causing them to stop and look at the door as well. A few seconds later the door opened and Gai walked in. Before Rock Lee could greet him Gai spoke, "Report to the Hokage immediately, there is a mission for you."

In front of the Hokage the four assemble waiting for their mission, "The time for the Runners from Tsunade is up. We must assume that either the Runners from Tsunade were ambushed or delayed because of an attack. If ours were delayed then Tsunade would have sent a team to investigate and would have sent word to us. You are to head to Tsunade's camp and assess the situation and inform her that the last message we received was the confirmation that she was in place. Then you are to wait there for further instructions." The Hokage handed Hiashi a scroll and he then passed it on to Iruka.

The team left the Hokage's office for the north gate. Along the way Hiashi told them that their primary objective was to get to Tsunade's camp. However if they ran into any advanced parties then, depending on their numbers, they were to take them out and search for any useable information. Once they left the village Naruto was instructed to take point. He was chosen because he had proven to have superior senses to Iruka and Lee. Hiashi would take the rear because he could keep watch for pursuers and his squad with the Byakugan. Iruka was positioned behind Naruto because he was the slowest and would set the pace for the group. Rock Lee took the third position because of his speed, so he could come and support any of the others faster than anyone.

For two hours the group traveled non-stop until Naruto signaled for a stop. Immediately the three others joined him and began scanning the area. Hiashi was the one to spot the intruders indicating that three Stone-nins were close by. After a glance from everyone asking the unspoken question to attack, Hiashi gave the go a head to attack. The attack on the Stone-nins was quick and decisive. The Stone-nins had already been injured and were out numbered and out skilled. Hiashi had taken out the leader by closing off the chakra holes near the heart, Naruto took out the one to the right of leader with a kick to the neck and Lee killed the last by punching him in the chest crushing his rib cage. Upon closer inspection of their gear, it turned out they had a correspondence from Konoha to Tsunade's forces. Meaning they were the ones to intercept the Runners. "Konoha must be informed that Stone scouts are in the area. I do not wish to do this but I must split up the team," Hiashi ordered. "Iruka and Lee will return to Konoha and inform them of the situation. Naruto and I will continue onto the Cloud border." The three subordinates complied and Iruka and Rock Lee left towards Konoha. "We must make up for the time we spent here."

"Not a problem," Naruto said and the pair took off.

At the front lines with Tsunade, events were become rather confusing. The message from Konoha has been late by several hours. In response she sent out a team to investigate what happened. And now no word has come from them. On top of that her scouts reported the sighting of the enemy camp just across the border, but when she sent an Anbu squad to confirm it, the camp had vanished. Causing her more worry, if they made their position then her camp would be open to attack but if she moved, it would give a good opening for the Cloud to invade. "Kakashi has any word come in from our scouts on where the enemy camp could be located?"

"I'm afraid not Tsunade-sama," Kakashi informed. "Because of the rain storms that continue to occur here, it is hard for the Inuzukas and their dogs to track anyone for very long. Even the Aburames and their bugs are having a hard time with all the wetness."

"Damn I don't like this," Tsunade said shaking her head. "The scouts reported a good sized camp that probably had close to a hundred shinobi. It's not exactly easy to move a camp of that size in only an hour's time."

"If the camp had been covered by an Genjutsu then the Anbu would have been at least able to detect it," Kakashi said, "There was a Hyuuga with in that squad and he should have easily been able to spot one."

"I know," Tsunade sighed. "I just wish I had more information."

Tsunade was about order Kakashi to send out another Anbu squad when a Chunin came up to her, "Tsunade-sama, one of the patrols ran into Runners from Konoha. It looks like they went all out to get here and are extremely tired."

"How many and who are they?" Tsunade asked.

"Two," the Chunin answered, "They are Hyuuga Hiashi and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Take me to them," Tsunade ordered, "Kakashi come with me." She did not even wait for a reply and left to find Naruto and Hiashi. Once she arrived where the two Runners were being kept, she immediately called out to the Hyuuga Clan Head, "Hyuuga-sama what news do you bring?"

Hiashi turned to Tsunade and began to recant their mission from beginning to end. He told of her the messages not making it to Konoha, the run in with the Stone shinobi and the subsequent split of the squad. Followed lastly by the decision not practically sprint the whole way here. Tsunade then intern informed the him what their current situation was, and told the pair to rest up and meet her later.

Two hours passed and the two Runners from Konoha were in a meeting with Tsunade discussing what should be done. "I have already sent two Runner squads back to Konoha, we are currently waiting for a squad from Jiraiya's forces as well."

"Are they over-do?" Naruto asked.

"No," Tsunade answered, "But the normal travel time is coming up soon. And considering your report of Stone-nins already in Fire Country they may be delayed."

"If they become late I would not hesitate to send a recon team to find them," Hiashi suggested.

"I agree," Tsunade nodded, "Kakashi, tell Asuma's team to be on stand-by." Kakashi nodded and left.

"In the mean time what do you want us to do?" Hiashi asked.

"I would like you to remain and help with any strategy sessions while you are here," Tsunade answered, "Naruto I want you to get some rest, we may need you incase of a fight or we need an extra Runner." Naruto nodded silently and left.

After Naruto got something to eat he decided to wonder around the camp for a bit. Being that half his squad was back in Konoha and his leader was helping with strategy sessions meant that he was kind of the odd man out for a while. One thing he did appreciate about the whole situation was that no one was giving him any cold stares. He figured that it was because everyone had too much on his or her minds to pay attention to him. Regardless of the reason he was still thankful for the reprieve from the usual looks he received. After a bit of wondering he had a good idea of the lay out of the camp and figured he should get at least some sleep and made his way to his tent.

As he was about to enter his tent a voice called out to him, "Hey Naruto!" turning Naruto spotted Shikamaru coming up to him. "I heard you were in camp."

"Yeah I arrived about half an hour ago," Naruto said. "Shouldn't you be in the strategy meetings, I mean that's what you were brought here for right?"

"Yeah that's why I was dragged along," Shikamaru sighed, "But the meeting ended a few minutes ago. And since there's nothing more me to do and watching the clouds isn't as relaxing in wartime, I figured I could hit you up for a game of shogi."

"I guess one game couldn't hurt," Naruto thought out loud, "But afterwards I will need to get some sleep." Shikamaru nodded in agreement and the two entered the tent to play a quick game. After a game of about a dozen moves Naruto surrendered seeing that he could not win, Shikamaru left and Naruto lay down to get some sleep.

He was not asleep long before he was awakened by some commotion outside his tent. Getting up to investigate he saw a squad of scouts running through the camp. Like everyone else who was disturbed, Naruto got up to join the others follow the scouts. He followed them directly to Tsunade's tent and overheard them saying, "The Cloud are on the move!"


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

The news stunned everyone that was listening. None could believe what was just said. Although in the news of the Cloud moving should not have been all that shocking. After all, that was the reason they were here, to stop the Cloud before they got a foothold in Fire Country.

Tsunade for her part was remaining calm, "Where are they moving? How many are there? And what are their ranks?"

One of the scouts that reported the movement of the Cloud stepped forward. "By our estimates, there appears to be at least two hundred and fifty. They appear to be moving through the pass about fifty kilometers to the north. And I am sorry to report but from our location we were unable to get a good estimate on their ranks."

"There is no need to be sorry," Tsunade said. "As of right now we must delay them." She then turned to the shinobi that gathered, "Kakashi take four squads with you and try to delay them while we set up for a counter attack. Don't take them on directly, just hit them heavily then retreat."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi saluted. "Teams 5, 12, 18, and 9 come with me!" The four teams nodded and bound away to try and intercept the advancing Cloud.

"The rest of you break camp and head to the fall back position!" Tsunade ordered. "We shall plan the counter attack there. Once we get more reliable estimates of the enemy."

Quickly those that remained began to break camp. If one were to watch from the out side one could not help but be impressed by the efficiency of the process. The first to move the Anbu, they were the ones most used to the breaking camp quickly because of the nature of their duties. They packed their equipment and dashed off a head of the others, securing the routes others were to take. The next to leave were the strategist and scouts. Their job was to make any notes as they traveled behind the Anbu so they could use the terrain to their advantage latter. Soon after the scouts and strangest were the primary force, consisted of several Chunin and the few Jounin that lead them. They were to cover the strategist backs, for without them they would have no chance of mounting an effective counter attack. The last to leave were Tsunade, her small unit of guards, and those designated as Runners. Naruto was part of this group; he silently followed Tsunade as they sped away from the newly abandoned site.

A part of Naruto wanted to be with Kakashi as he went to face and hopefully delay the advancing enemy. But he knew that his role would come later when they got set up for the counter attack. He knew that he would either be sent to Konoha or Jiraiya's force with a message to send reinforcements. Thus he decided to be patient and wait for his turn.

Kakashi lead his four teams in the opposite direction of everyone else. As they moved a squad leader came up next to him and asked, "What's the plan?"

Kakashi, keeping his gaze forward said, "The pass they are traveling through is an old trade route, that means its pretty wide and perfect to move a large force through. We are going to narrow that pass, causing them to either move slower or stop all together to remove some of the debris. That is also why I choose yours and the other teams. Each one is capable of causing high levels of damage with maximum collateral damage."

"How long are supposed to hold them?" Another commander that came up next to Kakashi asked.

"We won't be engaging them up front that would be suicide," Kakashi informed. "We'll be attacking from four directions at once. Two on each side of the pass, one up front one in the back. This should confuse them as well. Use the strongest Ninjutsu you have that causes the most collateral damage. Try to target the walls but don't hesitate to hit enemy targets either. We'll each use three jutsus then retreat and rejoin the others."

The rest of the journey passed in silence each contemplating the best technique they could use. Unfortunately they did not have much time to decide. Traveling at the impressive speed that shinobi were capable of they reached the pass in under an hour. Fortunately they were able to make it just as the Cloud ninja were about half way through the pass. From there they split up into the four teams, with Kakashi joining one of the ones up front. Once in position everyone began a long series of hand seals that were required for their powerful jutsus. Not surprising many of the jutsus were fire jutsus. There were other jutsus as well; a few water jutsus and one or two lighting jutsus too. And then there was one earth jutsu that was perfect for this situation. This one came from Kakashi, he first saw it when he first became a Jounin, one that cost him the life of his friend and allowed him to receive the Sharingan. "Doton: Iwa Yado Kuzushi!" The walls of the pass began to shake and several boulders began to dislodge from the surroundings and fall towards the Cloud shinobi. Once Kakashi completed the jutsu he called out, "Alright that's it! Fall back!" The four teams complied and retreated but not without some getting caught by some of the jutsus the Cloud-nins attacked them with.

Once they were a safe enough distance away Kakashi surveyed the damage with a bit of pride. The pass had been reduced by nearly a quarter and the terrain became much harder for anyone to transverse. He turned back to the teams and asked, "Casualties?"

"Three are dead and six are injured to various degrees," One of the commanders spoke with a limp corpse on his back.

Kakashi looked at his group, one side of him was glad that their mission was a success but the other side of him hated to see that it cost the lives of three of his comrades, "Price of war," he thought. "Those who can, help the wounded and carry the dead, we'll give our friends the burial they deserve once we get back home." The others nodded and went about to make it back to the rendezvous point.

The teams under Kakashi's command made their way back as quickly as they could. It took them three hours to make it to the rendezvous point. As soon as they arrived the injured were taken to the medics, the dead were taken to area that was designated for the fallen, and Kakashi was taken to see Tsunade. As soon as he came before the Sannin Kakashi gave his report, "The mission has been accomplished, the pass has reduced in size by a quarter and the exit had been almost entirely closed off. It should by us at least a day before they can move again."

"Good," Tsunade said, "That gives us time to plan and send word to Jiraiya to send reinforcements."

An Anbu came up to Tsunade and said, "A team of Runners have come from Jiraiya's force. They say that they came as with standard message."

"That means Jiraiya has not encountered the enemy," Tsunade surmised. "We'll have to send Runners to get a message to Jiraiya right away."

"It will take them more than half a day to get there, and it will take just as long if not longer for help to arrive," Kakashi said.

"They won't make in time before the Cloud make it through the pass," Hiashi said.

"They will if someone can get there in half the time," Tsunade said.

"No one can travel that far that fast!" a Jounin objected.

"I can," Naruto stated. Every eye in the area became fixed on the blond. "I've done it before."

"Then you will lead a team…" a Jounin began.

"No they will only slow me down," Naruto interrupted. "I can only make it on my own and only if a go all out."

"But what happens if you are caught or get delayed?" Another Jounin asked. "Then Jiraiya will never get the message."

"Then send a Runner team after me," Naruto responded, "But unless I leave now it won't matter."

"Very well Naruto," Tsunade said, "You are given the mission of getting to Jiraiya's forces and tell them that we need help."

Naruto nodded and began to run towards the Stone border. After he left the area one of the Anbu present asked, "Can he really make?"

Tsunade was the one to answer, "One thing everyone should be aware of is to never underestimate that boy." She then took a breath, "Lets begin the strategy meetings and send a full Runner squad with same message I gave Naruto."

Jiraiya was looking over several maps make plans incase the Stone invaded Fire Country. He had this feeling that something big was going to happen soon and he wanted to be prepared for the any outcome. While he was looking over the maps he recalled the measures he took so that he would not be caught off guard. Jiraiya sent three Anbu teams to follow the scout teams he sent to search for any sign of enemy movement. He had sent them both across the border and back towards Konoha. With the message he received about Stone shinobi already in Fire County he wanted to be sure that they had not be out flanked and caught from the rear. He glanced outside and noted that his Runners to Tsunade should have gotten there by now, and that she would be sending Runners of her own. He just hoped that nothing had happened to his fellow Sannin.

He was about to go back to his maps when three Anbu Captains appeared in front of him. "What do you have to report?"

The one to Jiraiya's right stepped forward, "The scouts and Anbu that were sent over the boarder have just returned. They report no sighting of Stone shinobi or traces of a camp."

The middle then stepped forward, "The Anbu that were scouting inside of Fire Country have not found any trace of the enemy either. They did however find traces that suggested some Mist shinobi were in the area."

"Hmm," Jiraiya thought for a moment, "They are probably in the area to assess the situation of the war. Tell the patrol to be on the look out for Mist-nins as well. We don't want our secrets to get out to anyone."

The last Anbu then stepped forward, "A sweep of around the camp has yet to produce any evidence of intrusion."

"Very well return to your duties," Jiraiya ordered.

"Yes Sir!" two of the Anbu Captains left.

"I don't like this," Jiraiya commented, "The only evidence that Stone is here is from the report from Konoha. It would be stupid to just send one advance party."

"Could it have been a diversion?" the Anbu asked. "An attempt to draw our forces to Stone border then come in through Cloud?"

"Possible," Jiraiya answered, "But until we get more concrete evidence we will not move from our position. Still we should probably increase our patrols in any case. Which teams are on patrol now?"

The Anbu thought for a minute, "I think Genji's, Sasuke's, Hayate's and Anko's."

"Send out two more teams to assist them and be on the look out for Konoha Runners," Jiraiya stated, "It's getting close to the time they would arrive."

"Yes Sir," the Anbu complied and left Jiraiya alone.

Not long after the last Anbu Captain left another Anbu, this one in the standard uniform, ran up, "Jiraiya-sama! A Runner is approaching!"

"From Konoha?" Jiraiya asked surprised, "I thought it would be at least an hour or so before they would show up."

"No Sir," the Anbu corrected, "The Runner appears to be coming from the direction of the Cloud border."

"As soon as the Runner comes," Jiraiya said firmly, "Bring them to me." The Anbu was about to leave when another person pushed him out of the way. When Jiraiya saw the person who came in he was rather surprised, "Naruto?"

Naruto breathing very heavily said, "The Cloud…on the…move…Tsunade…help." With that he passed out only to be caught by the near-by Anbu.

"Take him to the medics," Jiraiya, "Then spread the word that we'll be leaving for to help Tsunade. Also send Runners to Konoha to tell them of the situation!"

"Yes Jiraiya-sama!" the Anbu said carrying Naruto to the medics.

When Naruto woke up he noticed that he was in a tent of some sort and there was little light. When he sat up his suspicions of it being nighttime were confirmed. For a brief moment he wondered where he was. Then he remembered the mission he was given and in order to make it on time he had to use the Kamui principle to reach Jiraiya in time. The problem was he could not remember the last half hour of the journey. The taxation on his body made his memory a complete blur, he just hoped that he was able to give Jiraiya the information. Naruto's thought were interrupted when he detected a presence enter the tent. Turning to see who it was he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Hinata.

When Hinata looked at Naruto's bed she was slightly startled to see him awake, "Naruto-kun, you're awake! I thought it would be at least another day until you woke up."

"Hey Hinata-chan," Naruto greeted, "Did I get the message to Jiraiya? And, just how long have I been asleep?"

"Yes," came a third voice, "And you've been asleep for a little over a day." The two turned to the new voice and saw Sasuke enter the tent.

"Hey what are you two doing here?" Naruto asked, "Since I got the message to Jiraiya then that means he should have left."

"I and about twenty others were selected to remain here in case the Stone try to make it across the border," Sasuke then turned to Hinata, "As for her, she volunteered to stay to look after you."

Hinata blushed at Sasuke's comment and tried to turn away. Naruto saw this and smiled at her reaction, "So who's in charge now?"

"Ibiki," Sasuke answered. "He's the senior Jounin here. He'll want to see you a little later once you have recovered completely." He turned to Hinata who was already scanning Naruto with a medic scanning technique.

When she was done Hinata said, "At the rate he's healing I would say, he would be back to full strength in a few hours."

"If I didn't know the source of that healing ability I would be a little envious," Sasuke admitted.

"Feel free," Naruto smiled, "The demon's gone, and this is just an end result of it being in my body."

"I've got to get back to my patrol," Sasuke said leaving. He stopped at the entrance turned and with a smirk on his face said, "Don't do anything too rough you two." With one last glance back he saw Naruto scowling and Hinata blushing at his comment.

A couple of hours later Naruto was feeling well enough to get up and meet with Ibiki. He went to meet the scared Jounin at the center tent. There, Naruto was escorted by two Chunin inside and then left alone. Only a few minutes passed and the Ibiki arrived. "Glad to see you're up."

"Thanks," Naruto responded, "So what will be my assignment here?"

"Right to the point," Ibiki stated, "I like that." He then looked directly at Naruto, "You will stationed here under my command. You will help with the patrols and will be taken off the status as a Runner."

"Yes Sir," Naruto replied.

"Get yourself situated and report back to me for the team you will be assigned to." Naruto nodded and left to get familiar with the camp. After he wandered for a bit he felt he had a good grasp on the layout. It did not take him very long to search the camp, its size was much small than Tsunade's. When he was finished he returned to Ibiki to receive his assignment. He was given command of two of the younger Chunins that were left behind and they were assigned patrol duty.

Two days later a Runner arrived saying that Jiraiya's forces had joined up with Tsunade's and the combined forces were pushing the Cloud forces back. This was cause for small party to be held with in the camp. If they halted the Cloud advance then they may be able to stop the war before it escalated even more.

During the party Naruto and his group joined in the celebrations. They had to pull a double shift on patrol because one of the other teams became injured do to an accident, even shinobi can be clumsy at times. So when they got back they were all more than ready to relax and take it easy. Naruto not being used to being all that social, was content to watch from the sides as some of the shinobi got drunk and make a fool of themselves. After about an hour Sasuke joined Naruto having just finished his patrol. "Not much for parties?" Naruto asked.

"Not really," Sasuke said. "Never been one to enjoy the spot light."

"Funny that's not the impression I got when we were at the Academy," Naruto smirked, "Don't tell me you actually hated all the attention you were getting."

"Trust me having a dozen fan-girls follow your every move was not the kind of attention anyone would like," Sasuke said sighing at the memories. "Not even you."

Naruto chuckled, "And believe me you would hate to be me when they focused their wrath on me, I think they were scarier than anything anyone could imagine."

The two continued to enjoy the party from the sidelines when a panicked Chunin came running up to Ibiki. "Sir Team 3 has spotted Stone-nin on the move!" The announcement made everyone freeze and focus on the Chunin. "They have already crossed the border and are heading this way!"

"How far away are they and where is the rest of Team 3?" Ibiki asked.

"Their only about twenty five kilometers away," answered the Chunin. "And the rest of Team 3 stayed behind to try and hold off the enemy advance."

"How many Stone-nins are there?" Ibiki asked.

"Last I saw I think about seventy-five," the Chunin sadly said.

The others present were stunned by the number, " That many?" one asked. "That's suicide."

"It must be an advance invasion force," Ibiki concluded.

Sasuke seemed to remember something and whispered, "Hinata."

Naruto hearing Hinata's name asked, "What about her?"

Sasuke turned to his friend and slowly said, "She was the medic for Team 3."

Sasuke said more but Naruto did not hear him. The only thing in his mind was that Hinata was on Team 3 and they chose a suicide mission. Not even looking up Naruto rushed away from the others.

Everyone turned to see Naruto run in the direction the Chunin came from. Knowing exactly what was going through his mind, Sasuke called out to try and stop him, "NARUTO!" Unfortunately Naruto either did not hear or simply ignored the call.

"Damn that kid!" Ibiki said angrily. "Now's not the time to go rushing off like that." He then turned to Sasuke, "Go after him. We'll need him and his power, stop him before he gets himself killed." Not even bothering to acknowledge the order Sasuke took off after Naruto.

While Naruto was running the only thoughts going through his mind were, "Hinata, Team 3, and that's suicide." The words were being chanted inside his head over and over again. Pushing him faster and faster to get to Hinata. He had to find and save her, there was no other option.

After traveling as fast as he could he saw sighs of various traps. He could only assume that Team 3 in laid them in order to try and slow down the approaching Stone shinobi. Naruto searched the surrounding area for any sign of Hinata. All he saw was several Stone-nins heading in his direction. He knew he should stay hidden but his worry over Hinata overrode his reason. So not even bothering to cover his tracks he sped off to find her. Several minutes of searching, he picked up a faint but very familiar chakra signature. Naruto knew at once it belonged to Hinata, so he followed it to its source. As he got closer Naruto detected at least seven other chakra signatures. Two were weak while the other five were strong. He could only assume that she was being attacked and her two comrades had fallen. As the realization hit, Naruto doubled his effort to find Hinata. He soon came across five Stone-nins approaching a battered Hinata while she guarded her two teammates. Seeing her in such a condition caused Naruto's rage to explode. Not wasting anytime Naruto charged the surprised Stone shinobi. "Rapier!" he shouted taking out one. He landed and immediately performed another move, "Chainsaw!" taking out three more. The last one, he finished with, "Tomahawk!" In less than thirty seconds Naruto killed five Jounin level Stone-nins, normally anyone who watched would have been impressed. But to Hinata all she felt was relief, as soon as Naruto stopped he turned and faced her asking, "Are you alright?" Hinata's only response was grab a hold of him and kiss him full on the lips. After what seemed like forever Naruto pulled away and said, "We have to get you out of here."

"That won't be easy." Came a voice behind the two. Naruto spun around and relaxed when he saw it was Sasuke that said it. "You did not bother to cover up your trial and that burst of chakra drew a lot of attention. The Stone's forces are moving this way."

"How many?" Naruto asked.

"I wasn't able to get a good count," Sasuke answered. "But I would say at least half." He saw the disbelief on Naruto's face and said, "You let out a large pulse of chakra. So they're sending a lot of shinobi to deal with it."

Naruto nodded, "Then that means we'll have to stop them here."

Sasuke and Hinata were both caught off guard by that comment, "You can't be serious!" Sasuke angrily said.

"I am serious," Naruto retorted, "I can stop them, but I'll need that summon you did during our fight for it to work."

Sasuke was about to object until he saw the absolute confidence and determination in his eyes. "Why do you need my summon?"

"For the altitude," Naruto answered, "For the technique to work on a large area it needs to be done rather high up."

"Alright Dobe," Sasuke said, "Lets see what this technique can do?" Naruto nodded and Sasuke cut his finger, did the hand seals, and called out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The smoke cleared and Sasuke summoned a large white dog that looked closer to a wolf, about the size of large house.

"What is your wish?" the summoned dog asked.

Sasuke gestured to Naruto, "Get on!" Naruto leaped onto the dog, then Sasuke ordered, "Take us to where the Stone-nins are. Then jump as high as you can." The dog took off and in a few minutes the reached where several dozen shinobi were advancing in their direction, "There's more here than I thought, I hope you know what you're doing!"

Naruto did not respond to Sasuke, but he did start talking**, "**I Am Invincible! No One Can Defeat My Shadow Skill! And No One Can Survive One of My Blows!"

Sasuke starred in awe at the amount of power Naruto had unleashed. Naruto looked at Sasuke when he finished, the look brought Sasuke out of his daze and he remembered what he was here to do, "Jump!" he ordered the summon. The dog did as told and leapt as high as it could.

Once the dog reached the apex of its jump Naruto jumped off as high as he could. He was still radiating massive amounts of chakra. When he reached his apex he looked like he was about to perform an attack. Back at Sasuke, he had his Sharingan activated, he did not want to miss what Naruto would do. He watched as Naruto called out, "Shadow Skill Ultimate Attack: KANON!" several glowing orbs shot out of Naruto's extended foot spreading out over the ground. When they impacted each one cause a large explosion sending dust and debris several meters into the air.

Sasuke was stunned by the amount of damage the technique did. When he turned back to the now falling Naruto he noticed the blonds eyes were close and he was falling head first into the ground. "Catch him!" Sasuke ordered. The summoned dog leapt into the air and caught Naruto in his mouth. When it landed it gently place him on the ground and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke slowly approached the prone form, kneeling down he asked, "Just what have you become Naruto?"

Two days later three Kages read almost the same report, "The invasion of Fire Country failed. The Cloud forces retreated, and the Stone advanced force nearly wiped out. Cause, the shinobi from Konoha known as Shadow Claw."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Victory was celebrated in Konoha soon after word of the Cloud being driven back and the Stone advanced force was decimated. There were losses on the Konoha side but they had been light, do to the fact that the Cloud had to face two of the Sannins. But loses were still loses none the less. After a day of mourning for the fallen shinobi, the celebration began. The celebration was not just for victory however; it was also for the appointment of a new Hokage. For in just a few days time, Tsunade would officially become the Fifth Hokage.

Not all of the citizens of the Konoha were celebrating though. One of the key ninjas responsible of the victory was at the hospital still unconscious. Naruto had yet to waken up after he stopped the Stone-nins. It was kept secret that he was in the hospital, unconscious and vulnerable to attack, just incase someone wished to seek revenge. When Sasuke had described the attack Naruto used, to say the Hokage and the Sannins were in shock would have been a gross underestimation. The 'Kanon' as it was called, was clearly an S-class technique, but they had never heard of one that could do as much damage as what Sasuke described. They were anticipating Naruto waking up in order to explain the attack.

Tsunade had come by to see the blond every day to check up on his status. And everyday she used her medical scan jutsu to see how the teen was recovering. The technique had caused Naruto to use his chakra making him pass out afterwards. But with his fast recovery they did not expect Naruto to remain asleep for much longer. Right now Hinata was making her rounds through the hospital as per her duties as a medic-nin. And though she actually liked visiting all of her patients there was one that she particularly enjoyed visiting, she would enjoy it more however if he was awake.

The next day Tsunade for came daily check up on Naruto. Along the way she bumped into a young medic-nin that she had come to know rather well in the last couple of months, Hyuuga Hinata. "Hello Hinata-san how are you today?"

"I am well Tsunade-sama," Hinata replied. "There are still some injured shinobi from the war so I have been rather busy here."

"That's understandable," Tsunade said, "I'm here to check on Naruto, would you like to join me?"

"He is actually one of the patients I am attending to," Hinata said.

"I know," Tsunade smiled, "I had you assigned as his medic. I figured he would like it if he saw you when he woke up."

"Thank you Tsunade-sama," Hinata said blushing.

"So shall we go?" Tsunade asked. Hinata nodded and the two walked down hall.

Slowly opening his eyes, Naruto noticed he was in a room that was covered in white. Because he had spent so little time in hospital so he was not sure where he was. The last thing he clearly remembered was fighting the Stone shinobi causing him to believe that he had been captured. Struggling to sit up he noticed he was still low of chakra, and thus was vulnerable. "So now what do I do?" he asked himself. The had not occurred to him to ask, if he was captured by the enemy then why was he not restrained in some way? The only thing going through his mind was how could he escape when he was so weak?

Figuring that the only reason he was not dead was that they wanted to question him. Naruto decided the best way to remain safe was to convince them that he was still asleep. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing thus lowering his heart rate. He knew that his chakra system was still too low to be considered a threat, but his chakra would grow over the next couple of days and other shinobi would soon detect it. He would have to keep it suppressed while he was recovering. Once he was strong enough he would escape and find a way back to Konoha.

If Naruto knew that he was in a hospital he would not be wasting his time thinking of escape. As he was thinking about how he would get out of whatever village he was in he heard the door open two people enter.

Tsunade came closer to the bed and checked Naruto's breathing and heartbeat. Because he only had rather minor injuries to begin with there was no reason to hook him up to any monitoring equipment. So someone would just come in every few hours to check if he was awake. "Let's see," Tsunade said checking his pulse and breathing. "Looks like he's still asleep."

Hinata, being the professional medic-nin that she is, checked Naruto herself by using her Byakugan. When she looked at Naruto she saw his chakra system, and though weak, was flowing faster than it would if he were asleep, "Tsunade-sama," Hinata whispered. "I think something is wrong, his chakra is flowing faster than it should if he were asleep."

"Those voices," Naruto thought, "I think I recognize them." Because of his low chakra levels Naruto was only able sense chakra near him not if he recognized them.

"Are you saying he's actually awake?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes," Hinata answered.

"Damn," Naruto cursed, "How did they know?"

Tsunade thinking that it was one of Naruto's infamous pranks she heard so much about became rather irritated. "All right Naruto wake up!" she ordered.

"damn," Naruto thought, "No point in hiding now." Opening his eyes he was very surprised to see Tsunade and Hinata standing over him. "Hinata-chan? Tsunade-bachan? What are you doing here? Wait, where am I?"

Seeing his confusion Hinata stepped forward and answered his questions, "You're in Konoha hospital Naruto-kun and we are here to check up on you."

"Oh that's a re…" he was cut off by a light fist to the head.

"Don't call me 'bachan'" Tsunade said removing her fist.

"Ok! Ok! Tsunade-ba…uh chan," Naruto said rubbing his head, "So how did I get here and how long have I been out?"

"You got here because Sasuke carried you back," Tsunade answered. "And you've been out for only couple of days. Mostly do to charka depletion from that attack you did." Naruto nodded in understanding, he knew the effects of using Kanon. Both on the enemy and the user, "And speaking of which you will have to explain that one when the others get here."

"I was actually expecting that," Naruto said.

"Fine then," Tsunade then turned to Hinata, "Hinata would you go get the Hokage and bring him here. Jiraiya will either be with him or at the bath house." She then thought for a minute, "And if he's at the bathhouse use this," she handed Hinata a scroll.

Hinata examined the scroll noticing it was a one time summoning scroll. She became confused and asked, "Why do you want me to use a summoning scroll Tsunade-sama? And what does it summon?"

"If Jiraiya's at the bath house we all know what's he's doing," Tsunade said causing the other two to nod, "So I want you to use that to bring me there and I will make sure me answers for it." This caused Naruto to laugh rather loudly after picturing Jiraiya's face when Hinata suddenly summons Tsunade in front of him.

Giggling herself Hinata nods, "Yes Tsunade-sama I'll bring them here immediately."

After a few minutes of Tsunade giving Naruto the basics of what happened the last couple of days she suddenly said, "I'll see you in a few minutes Naruto." Naruto looked confused for a moment then when Tsuande disappeared in a puff of smoke he started laughing even harder than before.

Not long after Tsunade was gone the door opened and in walked the Hokage, "Good to see you're up Naruto." The Third looked around the room for a minute then asked, "I thought Tsunade was here with you?"

Naruto smiled, "She was 'called' a way a bit ago. She'll probably show up around the same time as Jiraiya." The Hokage was confused for a moment but noticing the smile on Naruto's face he got a good idea what might have happened.

About fifteen minutes later Tsuande, Hinata and Jiraiya, with a large welt on his head walked into the room. And once again Naruto laughed for the third time in less than forty-five minutes. Shaking his head the Hokage spoke up, "Well Naruto, could you please explain the attack you used against the Stone?"

"The Kanon is the final technique of Shadow Skill," Naruto answered. "It can either be focused into a narrow spread or spread out to deal damage of a large area."

"Sasuke reported that you needed to have a high altitude to perform it," Jiraiya said.

"That's because I have yet to truly master it," Naruto replied, "It requires high chakra capacity and control to use properly. The amount of chakra you put into the attack determines the strength and the control determines if the spread is narrow or wide. Because I don't have full control yet if just kind of spreads out when I perform it. That's also why I passed out," he added, "If had better control over the attack I would not require all my reserve to perform it at that strength."

"So the attack's strength is dependant of the individual," Tsunade guessed.

"Yes, but it also requires a certain level of chakra reserve to do the attack," Naruto confirmed, "And that is also why it usually takes a lot longer to master Shadow Skill than it took me. You have to have the stamina to actually use learn the attack in the first place. Because of the Kyuubi I all ready had the amount, I just needed to learn how to do it."

"Thank you Naruto," the Hokage said, "That was all I needed to know for now. Once you regain your strength you are free to go." The Hokage then said his good-byes and left to attend to his duties. Jiraiya left soon after with a thoughtful expression on his face.

After they left Tsuande said, "Well since you are the one who knows your body and recovery rate the best I will you tell me how long you are going to be here."

Naruto concentrated for a moment then said, "I should be back to full strength in about a day or so."

"Well, I know you recover quickly but I'll still come by tomorrow and if I think you're strong enough then you can leave," Tsunade said. "I have my own duties to perform, I'll see you later."

The next day Naruto was released because Tsunade had verified that he had recovered enough to be let out of the hospital. He had been told by Tsunade that he was given time off until fully recovered. Naruto estimated that he was about thirty percent and it would take him another two days or so to be fully recovered. During that time he felt he might as well enjoy himself at the celebrations that were taken place in honor of their victory in the war and the upcoming inauguration of Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage.

While walking down the street Naruto most people paid him no mind. The few that did however seemed to look at him differently. When he glanced around he noticed that many had a questioning look on their face like they did not know what to think of him. But every so often Naruto would notice a person that gazed at him with respect, this utterly confused the Shadow Skill user for he had never been looked at with respect before; save for those few that were close to him. "Wonder what made them change their minds?" he asked out loud.

To Naruto's surprise he got an answer, "What you did in the war," Jiraiya said, "And I'm not just talking about what you did to the Stone. I'm talking about your actions as a whole have a lot of people questioning their ideas about you."

"Maybe now I'll stop seeing so much hate in their eyes," Naruto hoped.

"That will change for some," Jiraiya supplied, "But not everyone, at least not yet."

"I know," Naruto nodded. "So what do you want?"

"I've been thinking about your fighting style," Jiraiya answered, "And though I will admit it's probably the one of the most impressive I've ever seen, you could use some things to help supplement it."

"I'm not sure I want to use much that requires hand seals," Naruto responded, "I think at this point if would counter productive for me."

"You may be right on that," Jiraiya admitted, "But there are some jutsus that do not require hand seals or you could use other methods to supplement your style."

"I'll think about," Naruto relented. It would be good to have something else to use other than just Shadow Skill, if someone were to watch him enough they may find a way to counter his abilities. He would have to think hard about what he would want to do.

Naruto continued on his way when he came across Lee and Neji. Surprisingly, Lee was carrying a ceramic mask in his left hand. When they got closer Naruto waved in greeting and the two stopped, "Hey Lee what's with the mask?"

"I just got accepted into the Anbu squads Naruto-kun!" Lee answered with pride giving the 'nice guy' pose while showing off his turtle mask.

"Nice job Lee," Naruto said slightly taken back by the new Anbu's enthusiasm. "But why, I thought you had to take a test of some sort?"

"Normally yes Uzumaki-sama," Neji answered, "But Hiashi-sama recommended him for the position after the war and the Hokage agreed."

"Wait!" Lee pointed at Naruto, "Why did you address him as 'sama'?"

"Yeah I want to know that too," Naruto joined, "When I came to the Hyuuga grounds everyone was calling me Uzumaki-sama."

"I am not sure," Neji answered, "But Hiashi-sama ordered us to address you as Uzumaki-sama."

"Well don't," Naruto said, "You can just call me Naruto, that 'sama' thing feels weird."

"As you wish Naruto-san," Neji said, he still addressed Naruto with respect; mostly do to his accomplishments in the war.

"Well, I have to go," Lee announced, "I'm to meet with my new team soon."

"And I have my own duties to perform," Neji said. And the two friends walked off.

At the Hokage office another discussion was taking place. This was between the soon to be former Hokage and the soon to be new Hokage. "So you think this is best for him?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes I believe that Naruto's skills are most suited for this," The Third answered, "He has shown his ability to work as a group and an individual. And as you know this requires both, besides we need some as strong as him here."

"I can't disagree," Tsunade said. "But why did you tell me first?"

"Well you will be the Fifth soon," the Hokage smirked, "You will be required to give Naruto his assignments personally. I just figured you would want to know his position before you were forced to give him his first assignment."

"Yeah I guess," Tsunade sighed, "So when do we tell him?"

"Let him relax for a couple of more days," the Third answered, "Then we'll tell him." Tsunade nodded knowing what Naruto's new position would entitle.

In a darkened cavern at a location known only to a hand full of people a gathering was taking place of several dangerous individuals. Not just any dangerous individuals, but S-class criminals. Two figures of differing heights were walking down a poorly lit pathway, they had been surprisingly called back just a couple of weeks ago. They had thought their organization had been disbanded presently over two years ago. Moving through the darkness a voice from in front of them called out, "You two are the last to show up." A large but short man came into the light of the torch, "And I hate to be kept waiting."

"We had further to travel," the short man replied.

"Yeah, Sasori," the tall one who had something wrapped up strapped to his back, "So get that stick out of your ass already." The one called Sasori became angry at the comment and stepped forward. The tall one, not to be out done, stepped forward as well as reach for what was strapped on his back.

"Enough!" short one said. The other two turned to the third person and noticed his eyes had gone blood red and appeared to spin. It caused the two flinch slightly and step back, "We have a meeting to get to." With that the short one went ahead of the other two.

Not long after the small meeting in the pathway the three entered a large cavern where six other individuals were gathered. Five of those were standing up facing the only one sitting down. "Good, Itachi and Kisame have joined us," the seated one announced. Once the three joined the others the seated one continued, "I have called you all back because our plan is to be reinstated." A question look passed on several of the people, but no one dared interrupted him. "The Nine Tails is not dead, the recent war has revealed its location. With that we can proceed with plans that originally drew us all together." Several of the nine smirked in anticipation at the thought of once again attaining their goals. If fact only one seemed indifferent to the idea, but on the inside he was wondering what it would be like to see his little brother again and how much stronger he was become.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Naruto stepped in to the Hokage's office after he was summoned no more than an hour ago. There he was greeted by the old man that, for the longest time was closest thing to a family the blond had, the Third Hokage; and the young looking woman that he had become rather close to after their first meeting, the soon to be Fifth Hokage. He could tell by the looks on their faces that this was not a social call and required him to be the professional he come to be. Coming to with in a couple of steps of the Hokage's desk Naruto saluted and said, "You wished to see me Hokage-sama."

The Third nodded and began to speak, "Yes Naruto, for a while now I have been trying to find the best place for you. Ever since your return you have shown a skills and power that honestly make it difficult to place you. Your former Runner position was only temporary, but it did result in me finally deciding what you would best at."

"And what do think I would be best at?" Naruto asked.

"We believe that you would make a rather skilled hunter-nin," Tsunade answered.

Naruto was taken back. He knew that he would be assigned to a permanent area sooner or later and he knew he would probably end up in a specialized unit. But a hunter-nin was no what he was expecting. So of course his question was, "Why am I being assigned as a hunter-nin?"

"Because," the Hokage spoke, "You have shown the skills that are required for a hunter-nin. In the war you have shown your ability to work as a group, Hyuuga-sama mentioned that you were able to follow orders correctly but also spoke up when you did not agree with the plan. That combined with the solo mission you went on, proved that you can also survive on your own, another needed skill to be a hunter-nin."

That solo mission," Tsunade continued, "showed you remarkable speed and stealth. The other Runners that were sent after you could not follow your trail. Hyuuga-sama also indicated that you have very acute senses and tracking abilities, he admitted that you were the first to spot those Stone-nin scouts."

"Being able to detect someone one faster than a person that is a master with the Byakugan is an impressive accomplishment," the Hokage praised. "These reasons combined with what I already saw earlier have convinced me that making you a Hunter-nin is the best place for you and the village."

Naruto not really knowing what to think could only say, "Thanks I'll do my best."

"We know you will, Naruto," Tsunade said with a smile.

"After you have recovered fully," the Hokage said, "You will begin training in the finer points of being a Hunter-nin. After that you will placed on a team and begin missions tracking down Missing-nins."

"And considering you fast recovery rate," Tsunade said, "You had better be ready soon."

"That is all for now Naruto," the Third said. "You are dismissed until after Tsunade's inauguration. After that she will be giving you your assignments." The Hokage smiled at the look that past between the other two in the room. It was a mix of friendship, respect, understanding, and care; in short it was a look between family.

"I won't let you down," Naruto said bowed and left.

Sakura was just coming back from giving her report on a C-class mission she took alone. It was nothing really, a village close by was having problems with some minor burglaries and vandalism. It only turned out to be a small group of travelers that were too cheap to pay and too drunk to watch where they going. In fact the only reason she took the mission in the first place was because she wanted some quick money so she could by some new kunai. As she came out she saw Naruto with a thoughtful expression on his face as he exited the Hokage's office. Wondering what he was thinking about Sakura went up to meet him, "Hey Naruto what's wrong?"

"Oh hello Sakura-chan," Naruto greeted with a smile, "Nothing really I was just thinking about new position I was just given."

"Oh and what would that be?" asked a curious Sakura.

"I've been assigned to the Hunter-nins," Naruto answered, "I'll be starting after Tsunade is becomes the Fifth Hokage."

"Congratulations Naruto," Sakura said.

"Thanks Sakura-chan," Naruto replied. "They said that I would be good at being a Hunter-nin."

"Well from what I've seen and heard," Sakura said, "You would be great at it." Naruto smiled at his friend in thanks for the encouragement. "Well I going to have to go, I want to buy this new kunai set that I've had my eye on."

The mention of a weapon caught Naruto's attention. Since his discussion with Jiraiya about supplementing his fighting style Naruto had been giving it some serious thought. He agreed that it could not hurt to have something to go along with it. After much thought he decided to learn a couple of jutsus that did not require hand seals and use a weapon or two so he would not have to burn as much chakra to kill his enemy. "Mind if I join you?" Naruto asked, "I've looking to get a new weapon myself."

"No I don't mind," Sakura answered. "What kind of weapon are you looking for?"

"That I'm not too sure on," Naruto replied, "But I got a feeling I will know it when I see it."

"Well then I know just the place," Sakura said. "It's a sword shop that is run by Lee-san's old teammate's family. They make the best weapons in Konoha not too mention they have the biggest variety as well."

When they arrived at the shop Naruto could tell Sakura was not exaggerating. The shop had everything from kunais and shurikens used by ever ninja to swords used by the Anbu to specialty weapons like the metal wires used by Sasuke and Kakashi. Upon entering the shop a voice called out from the back, "Sakura-san I'm glad you came," a teenager about their age came out and greeted them. "I kept those kunai you wanted, but you were lucky because Dad said that if you didn't come for them soon he would have to sell them to someone else."

"Thanks Tenten-san," Sakura responded, "I've got the money and I've also brought a customer." She pointed to Naruto who was still looking around the shop, "He's looking for a weapon but doesn't what he's looking for."

Tenten looked at Naruto and addressed him, "You're Shadow Claw aren't you?"

Naruto hearing his other name turned to Tenten, "Yeah, how did you know?"

"I was one of the ones that was left at the camp after Jiraiya-sama left," Tenten answered.

Naruto nodded then said, "Well since you seem to know Sakura-chan rather well you can call me Naruto."

"Ok Naruto," Tenten said. She the saw him once again begin glancing at the various weapons around the shop and asked him, "So what do you want your new weapon to do?" Naruto looked at her in confusion so she clarified, "Most people already know what weapon they want and what they are going to do with it. Because you don't know what weapon you want we have to settle with what job is it going to do."

"Oh ok," Naruto said. He then thought for minute, "Well I was thinking of something that could be used in close range combat and easy to conceal. And I don't want a kunai, I don't use them enough to warrant getting more than the ones I already use."

"Close range and easy to conceal," Tenten mused. She put her hand up to her chin in thought. Speaking to herself she said, "Well that actually narrows it down a lot. No swords or long weapons; can't really conceal them. Also doesn't want long range, so that cuts out projectile weapons. So I guess that leaves short swords and daggers I guess." She looked at Naruto saying, "I think I have a couple of things that might work."

She then went to the back and brought out four different weapons. The first one she should Naruto was a sword just a little shorter than an Anbu sword. It could be concealed under the shirt on the back but still be reached fairly easy. Naruto said that it he wanted something that could be released faster to catch a person off guard. Tenten nodded putting down the short sword. The next thing she showed him was a dagger a little longer than a kunai, he examined it for a minute then rejected it as well. He said he wanted something a little longer and easier to slash with. Tenten nodded and went directly for the last weapon, the third was just a longer version of the second weapon. She pulled out the weapon and handed it to Naruto. The weapon was a combat knife with a slight cure to it making it easier to slash with and about forty centimeters in length from tip to end. Naruto gripped in a backhand gesture with edge facing away from him. He made a few slashes at various angles nodding in satisfaction. "Pretty good, but I need it a way to keep in place," Naruto said, "I move and twist a lot with the way I fight and it just slips out of the sheath too easily. Also I would need a better grip, again because I move and twist so much. Don't want it flying out of my hand and killing my teammate do I?"

Tenten laughed saying, "No I suppose not. The sheath problem isn't all that hard to fix all we have to do is put a simple locking mechanism in it. I can make is so it can be released by applying specific pressure the grip. That would cause the grip to be modified, but because you wanted to do that anyway it wouldn't be that difficult. The problem will be adjusting the grip to your hand. That's the best way to ensure that it doesn't come flying out of your had. I'll need to make measurements of you hand and custom make the grip to the measurements."

"How long would that take?" Naruto asked.

"The measurements would take more than a few minutes at most," Tenten answered. "But to make a custom grip would take a least three four days."

"That's fine," Naruto said.

"Well then give me you hand and I'll get started," Naruto extended his hand and Tenten started taking measurements. After she was done she told Naruto to check back in a couple of days and see the progress. Naruto agreed and gave here some money as a down payment and after that Naruto and Sakura left while Tenten returned to the back to get started.

After they left Naruto decided that he would hunt down Jiraiya and discuss with him the kind of training that would allow him to perform jutsus without hand seals. Knowing the kind of person Jiraiya was he started to check around the vicinity of the bathhouses. Upon the third one he came across the Legendry Pervert peeking into the girls side. Feeling the need to scare him a bit Naruto snuck up behind and in a low voice, "Hinata-chan had better not be in there."

Jiraiya froze in place. He recognized that voice and that tone, slowly he turned around and saw the blond Jounin staring at him with killing eyes, "I swear she's not in there!" Naruto's face did not change, "You can see for your self!" Jiraiya said pointing at the hole. Naruto glanced at the hole then back to Jiraiya and narrowed his eyes. "Aw come on, Tsunade said she would make it a capital crime when she became Hokage, how am I supposed to complete my book without research?"

Naruto's gaze did not change as he said, "The you had better not do it. Because I have been appointed to the Hunter-nins and if you're caught and try to run I will take great pleasure in tracking you down."

Jiraiya took a step back then thought of a way to change the subject, "Well if you're going to be a Hunter-nin then you'll defiantly need to expand your abilities beyond Shadow Skill."

Internally Naruto was smiling, he had heard that getting Jiraiya to teach anyone anything was extremely difficult, all he really wanted to do was scare the Sannin a little. But now if he played his cards right he could get him to show what he knew. Relaxing his gaze a minute Naruto asked, "You got any suggestions?"

Jiraiya was happy that his distraction worked, "Well you said you did not want to learn any jutsus that required hand seals and I know a few. However, they are hard to learn and can take quite sometime master."

"I expected as much," Naruto said. "And it might take even longer depending how busy I am."

"True," Jiraiya said, "But I think in the mean time you should learn something else. It could help you with as a Hunter-nin."

"Oh, what's that?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity.

"Summoning," Jiraiya answered.

"Summoning?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Yes, it only requires a couple of hand seals so it would not be that much a hindrance to your fighting style and being able to summon your own backup would be good if you're ever out numbered."

Naruto nodded in agreement. He had seen the advantage from Sasuke and also heard what the summons Jiraiya and Tsunade used against the Cloud. "Alright so how do I learn how to summon?"

Jiraiya smiled and took the scroll off his back, "You have to sign you name in blood on the summon contract. If the contract accepts you the name will stay and then you will be able to summon."

Jiraiya unrolled the scroll and indicated where Naruto should sign. When Naruto saw glancing at the names he came across Jiraiya's next to the last one. He was surprised because he halfway expected Jiraiya's name to be the last since he carried around the scroll. When he read the last name his head shot up and asked, "Kazuma, Arashi? Isn't that the name of the Fourth Hokage?"

"Actually yes," Jiraiya answered. "He was my student as a gennin and continued to be my apprentice until he was Jounin. He also taught your old sensei Kakashi."

"I didn't know that," Naruto muttered. "I've always wondered what he was like."

"He was a lot like you in a way," Jiraiya answered. "Dedicated to his friends, cared about the village like it was his own family, and was strongest when was fighting to protect people close to him. Why do you want to know about him?"

"Well before I found out about the fox," Naruto said, "I had heard that he was an orphan like I was. I figured that if one orphan became the Hokage then another one could as well. Then after I found out, I wanted to know what kind of person he was so I could figure out why I was chosen to be the prison."

"Naruto the truth is, you were the only one born that night," Jiraiya said. "The seal needed a new born baby in order to keep the Kyuubi contained."

"Yeah I know," Naruto said. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Naruto asked, "So what are the hand seals for the jutsu?"

Jiraiya smiled and showed Naruto the seals. He explained, "Remember it requires blood to perform the jutsu. You do the seals then slam you palm down channeling a lot of charka through your hand. The amount of chakra depends on the size of the summon that comes out."

"Ok let me try," Jiraiya leaped back a few meters to give Naruto room for the summon. After doing the seals Naruto called out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A large puff a smoke occurred when it cleared there was large tadpole under Naruto's hand totally ineffective in battle.

"What the hell was that!" Jiraiya asked incredibly angry.

"Give me a break!" Naruto yelled back. "I didn't know how much chakra to channel in to the jutsu!"

"Well you have to channel more!" Jiraiya retorted, "A lot more!"

"Alright just give me some room," Naruto ordered. Jiraiya complied and Naruto repeated the process only this time putting incredible amounts into the jutsu.

Sensing how much Naruto was putting in Jiraiya called out, "THAT'S TOO MUCH!" Unfortunately it was too late, a massive cloud of smoke occurred and when in cleared Naruto was gone and in his place was a massive red toad with a pipe sticking out of his mouth. "Oh this is not good."

For a moment Naruto was wondering where he was. One second he was standing on the ground then he felt himself rise into the air and finally he felt he was standing on something rather smooth and slippery. Looking down he saw that he was standing on a giant toad's head, "Guess I did it."

"JIRAIYA!" the giant toad called, "WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME!"

Jiraiya not having enough time to escape the toad's wrath could only move in front and answer truthfully, "Actually Gamabunta, the one on you head summoned you."

Gamabutta looked at the blond haired teenager on his head and for a moment was surprised. He thought for a moment it was the Fourth but knew that was impossible. "HEY KID WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto answered slightly shaken by the toad.

Again the toad was surprised for a moment, then stated, "IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN KID."

"Huh?" Naruto was now very confused, "We haven't met before, I think I would have remembered meeting a giant toad."

"You met him the night the Fourth sealed the Kyuubi in you," Jiraiya answered after jumping onto Gamabunta. "The Fourth summoned him to battle the Kyuubi."

Naruto was about to respond when a large tongue came up and wrapped around Jiraiya, "I DID NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO STAND I MY HEAD!" Gamabutta said as he held Jiraiya in front of him. The toad boss then flung the hermit with his tongue several at least two kilometers away.

Seeing what happened to the supposed toad master Naruto began to panic, "I didn't mean stand on your head honest I was just learning how to summon and put too much chakra into the jutsu! This is only the second time I've done it I swear!"

"SO YOU'RE THE ONE THAT SUMMONED THE TADPOLE A FEW MINTUES AGO," Gamabunta said.

"Y…yeah," Naruto responded nervously.

"HAHAHAHA," the toad began to laugh loudly, "I'M IMPRESSED KID, IT USUALLY TAKES SEVERAL ATTEMPTS BEFORE SOMEONE CAN SUMMON ME. TELL YOU WHAT, SINCE I HAVEN"T BEEN OUT IN WHILE, I'LL RECONISE YOU AS MY SUBORDINATE IF YOU LET ME STAY FOR A WHILE."

"You mean I get decide how long you stay out?" Naruto asked.

"THE LENGTH I CAN STAY OUT IS DETERMINED BY THE SUMMONER'S WILL, OR UNTIL I RUN OUT OF CHAKRA."

"Well ok," Naruto said. "Just don't step on any of the villagers."

"FINE THEN," Gamabunta agreed and leapt away with Naruto still on top of his head.

From where he landed Jiraiya watched as Gamabunta jumped away. As he watched he was thinking about what the he and Naruto discussed earlier. "Hmm if may be time to tell him about his past. I'll have to inform Sensei and Tsunade about this."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

The day for Tsunade's inauguration finally came. Everyone in the village turned out for the ceremony. As the populace looked up at the sight of the Third passing on the triangular Kage hat and his duties to Tsuande, many of the older shinobi could not help but remember a similar scene several years ago when the Third did the same for the Fourth. All whom watched the ceremony prayed that, as similar fate would not befall the Fifth.

Up on top of the Hokage Tower just below the stone visages of the previous Hokages. Tsunade gave her speech to the village. "My predecessors have all said that people are truly at their strongest when they are protecting those precious to them," Tsuande spoke loudly. "To be the Hokage means that every one in this village becomes their precious person. For that reason the Hokage must be at their strongest whenever the village is threatened, and is not a position to be taken lightly. I, Tsunade, granddaughter of the First Hokage and student of the Third Hokage gladly take the position of the Fifth Hokage to ensure the continued protection of Konoha." With her speech concluded everyone raised their voices in cheers at their new Hokage.

After the cheers died down and the new Fifth Hokage left the crowd began to disperse. All were eagerly commenting about how Tsunade looked during her speech. Many of the women commented that she retained the grace of lady with power of the kunochi. Some of the men commented that she positively gorgeous in the Hokage Robes. And the perverts were commenting about how her chest was still easy to be seen even from far distance and under the Hokage's robes, they were often smacked by a woman that was close enough to hear.

Among the last to leave the area were Naruto and Hinata. Both had stayed behind for the simple reason that they wished to talk for a while. They had not had much opportunity to talk over the past couple of days and probably would not for a while because of Naruto's new position. "When do begin your training Naruto-kun?"

"Tomorrow actually," Naruto answered. "Today I meet up with my team and we get to know each other a little." He thought for a minute and smiled, "Kind of reminds me of when we were Gennins in a way."

"I understand Naruto-kun," Hinata responded. "When I went into medical training I was assigned a small team as well. If fact from what I heard from the others all specialized divisions go through similar processes."

"Not surprising really," Naruto said, "People tend to learn more and better when they work in a unit."

Hinata nodded in agreement then asked, "What are you doing after until you meet your team?"

"Well that wont happen until later this after noon," Naruto answered. "But before I go meet them I need to pick up a weapon I ordered. I was told to come and check on it after a couple of days. I went to check on it yesterday and Tenten said it would be ready today." Naruto looked at Hinata for a minute and saw a bit of disappointment in her eyes, "But that should only take a few minutes, if you come with me we could get something to eat afterwards." Hinata's face brightened and she nodded in agreement.

Once they arrived at the weapons shop they were quickly greeted by Tenten, "Hey Naruto, Hinata. I got order right here." She reached under the counter and brought out sheathed combat knife with custom grip. "As per we discussed I made the grip to your hand, only you'll be able to hold it properly. I also incorporated a knuckle guard for a bit more protection."

"What about the pressure sensitive release?" Naruto asked.

"It's there," Tenten replied, "It would be useless to tell you how much pressure is needed to activate the release. The only way to find out is to do it. I can tell you that it takes a descent about but I would start with a firm grip then slowly increase the pressure while pulling against the sheath that way you can get a good idea how much it will take." Naruto took the advice and gripped the knife. As Naruto applied pressure to the handle he began to pull the sheath. After about ten seconds the blade came loose, when it did he examined the blade and noted it was the same one he looked at when he was with Sakura. Placing the blade back in the sheath Naruto tried again, it took him less time to figure out the pressure this time around. After three more repeated processes Naruto could grip the handle and pull out the blade with in less than a second. "I guess that about does it, after the deposit you made it will cost fifty thousand yen."

"Here," Naruto handed over the payment and then turned to Hinata, who was waiting patiently for the two to finish. "Shall we go, Hinata-chan?" Hinata smiled and followed him out of the shop. "So where do you want to go?"

"I know a place near by that is pretty good," Hinata answered. "I went there when Neji introduced me to Tenten." The place Hinata was talking about did not serve ramen and she knew that Naruto would be a bit upset but she was not really in the mood for ramen. She was also determined to widen Naruto's diet a little more.

"Ok lead the way then Hinata-chan," Naruto said.

After lunch with Hinata Naruto went off to meet his new team. He made his way into the administration building and towards the area dedicated to the Hunter-nines. When he entered the are he saw several people wearing masks like the Anbu but instead of having unique animal masks the assembled shinobi's masks were flat with just a little bit of coloring. As he was looking around a Hunter-nin along with a medium sized dog came up to him, "Uzumaki Naruto come with me?" the Hunter-nin spoke with a gruff voice but seemed to harbor no ill will towards the voice's intended listener.

Naruto complied and followed the one that addressed him over to a slightly taller Hunter-nin that appeared to be female. When the two got closer the female Hunter-nin took off her mask revealing a plain but not unattractive face with dark blue eyes. "Hello I'm Yamato, Tenko and I'll be the leader of you new team."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto greeted, "it's good to meet you. And who's this?" he asked gesturing to the third member of their party.

"You all ready know me Dobe," the person returned, "Though I probably shouldn't call you that any more." The Hunter-nin removed his mask revealing slited eyes with red triangular tattoos on his cheeks.

Naruto stared for minute trying to recall where he had seen this person before. After glancing at the dog for a minute and then back to smile showing the elongated incisors it dawned on him, "Kiba! I didn't know you became a Hunter-nin."

"Yeah well with me an Akamaru's tracking abilities it was a natural choice really," Kiba replied.

"Good you two know each other," Tenko said. "That saves us a bit of time." She began to walk off saying, "Common I'll tell you what you need to know while we go pick up your mask."

The three humans and the dog left the administration office and headed into town. Along the way Tenko began to talk a little about herself, "Well to start I'm actually only a little older than you are. Nineteen to be exact," she explained. "I've been in the Hunter-nins for about three years now and technically my rank in only Chunin. But that really doesn't matter with Hunter-nins."

"Oh why is that Tenko?" Naruto asked.

"Because among Hunter-nins its experience determines rank and matters most not rank of the shinobi," Kiba answered. "And since I've been one for a year you'll have to follow my orders, Jounin." Kiba smirked at the last part causing Naruto to sigh somewhat. Kiba always had a bit of a bossy attitude even before they became Gennins.

"Yeah and you're still under my command," Tenko joined in. "So shut up about it." Kiba flinched a moment and nodded silently, Naruto seeing his reaction smiled somewhat but was also nervous as well. From what he could remember not many people could make Kiba shut up. "Still Kiba is correct, he is your senior in the Hunter-nins. But that really won't matter because you'll both be under my command for a while."

Another few minutes past that consisted of Naruto answering Tenko's questions about himself until they arrived at ceramic shop near the center of town. "Is this where we're getting my mask?"

"Yep," Kiba answered. "They make all the masks for both Anbu and Hunter-nins for the entire village."

After the entered Tenko walked up to counter and said, "We need a Hunter-nin mask for him," pointing at Naruto.

"Ok, Ok," the old man behind the counter said. He went into the back and pulled out a box holding six masks. "Take you're pick."

Naruto examined the masks for moment and like the other Hunter-nin masks they were flat with only different paint on them. After glancing of over the masks Naruto saw one that had a red inverted triangle on at the top with in between the eyes and three black lines on the sides. "I'll take this one." He said picking it up.

Naruto was trying to figure out how to put it on his face when Tenko spoke up, "Just put it over your face, they have special jutsu that holds it there until you remove." Naruto nodded and put the mask on, to his slight surprise it held. When he turned to the others he saw them nod in agreement, "Nice choice, it seems to fit you. We may not get custom masks like the Anbu but each Hunter-nin tries to pick a mask that fits them best."

"Well now that's done," Tenko said, "We'll meet in the forest tomorrow to test your skills then we can go from there."

"Ok I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Naruto said leaving the store and made his way to his apartment.

He was about half way home when an Anbu came up behind him saying, "The Hokage wishes to see you immediately." Without another word the Anbu disappeared.

"Wonder what the old man want now," Naruto thought, "Oops I guess it's old woman now." Naruto changed is direction and went to the Hokage Tower.

When he arrived the guards immediately let him in and to his surprise he saw the former Hokage, the current Hokage and Jiriaya all waiting silently for him to arrive. "Why did you guys want to see me?"

"Naruto," Tsunade spoke, "We called you here because we felt that it was time we told you about your family."

Naruto was taken back by the answer. No one had ever mentioned anything about his family before. In fact he just assumed that they died in Kyuubi attack. He never even bothered to ask if the Hokage knew who they were. Taking a deep breath he asked, "So what about my family?"

"First," the Third began, "Please understand that even we were not positive on whom your family was until a year after you disappeared and we did not tell you sooner because we…"

"Honestly did not know how to tell," Tsunade finished. Naruto nodded silently not really knowing what to say.

"Naruto," Jiraiya spoke, "A year after you left I was tracing some information that I had been trying to gather for a long time. As you know the Fourth was an orphan, as his sensei I always felt an obligation to try and find out where he was from. Even after he died I continued, mostly for myself I admit. During that time I came across some references to some nomads that had no affiliation to any nation or Shinobi Village. It turns out that the Fourth was a member of this tribe. He was the son of one of the tribe's leaders and was born in Konoha. Apparently they were here to negotiate a trade deal with Konoha, because of their life style that was how they made a living." Jiraiya paused and saw he had Naruto's undivided attention then continued, "details are unknown as to what happed to the party sent to Konoha, but along the way they were attacked and the only one to make it too the village was a woman carrying a small child in her arms. The woman died just as she entered the gates. The child was taken in by the village and raised to become the Fourth."

"What does this have to do with me?" Naruto asked in a quite voice. He had become adapt at putting things together over the years but the anticipation of learning about a family he never had overridden the deductive parts of his brain.

"We're getting to that," Tsunade answered, "Like Jiraiya the Fourth was also searching for his family. He never told anyone because if his family came from an enemy village then it could become a dangerous situation."

"It turned out that he had better luck than I did," Jiraiya said. "He found out about a year before the Kyuubi attacked and was planning to meet them. Because they had no loyalties to any village it would not be much of a problem. Through many correspondences they arranged a meeting and the tribe sent another party to Konoha, this time consisting of an elder sister to the Fourth. It turns out that siblings within the tribe could instantly tell each other if they ever got separated."

"Unfortunately," the Third continued, "On their way here they came across the Kyuubi and were attacked. The Fourth's sister was eight months pregnant at the time and attack sent her into labor. The two other survivors rushed her to Konoha." Naruto had at this point become completely stone quite. "I remember that the night the Kyuubi attacked I was talking with the Fourth when he suddenly stood and used his Shunsin no Jutsu and disappeared from the room. It was probably because he sensed his sister close by. He returned about an hour later carrying a baby in his arms and sounded the alarm of the Kyuubi's attack. Naruto that baby was you."

Naruto was completely silent for several minutes as he absorbed the information. The Fourth Hokage and him were related, not just related but he was the Fourth's nephew. "Are they…I mean is there…do you know where?"

Understanding what Naruto was trying to say Jiraiya answered, "The tribe is currently camped in Plains Country west of Wind Country."

"Do they know I'm alive?" Naruto asked finally regaining his voice.

"I'm afraid not," Jiriaya answered, "The last time I talked with someone from the tribe was about six months ago. And at that time I was still not aware of your true state. But you should know that I've already sent a message to them saying that you are still alive."

"Naruto I know you just began your new…" Tsunade began.

"Don't worry," Naruto said. "I won't leave." His statement caught the three off guard they had though Naruto would insist that he be allowed to go to them. "It wouldn't do much good to go there unless they know I'm alive first. So until you get a message back Ero-Sannin I will continue my duties at the village."

"You realize it could take several months for them to respond Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah," Naruto answered, "But I've been waiting most of my life to know my family, what's another couple of months. Besides the village needs me now. But if they send a message back I may request a leave of absence." The three smiled and nodded in understanding, "Now if there is nothing else, I have training in the morning and need to get some sleep."

"Very well Naruto," Tsunade smiled, "You're dismissed." Naruto nodded and exited the office. After he left Tsunade said, "I think that just proves more than anything else who will be the Sixth." Her two companions could not agree more with her statement.

The next day Naruto reported for his first day as a Hunter-nin. There he met up Kiba and Tenko and they got started. True to her words Tenko tested Naruto on his abilities that were required for Hunter-nins; tracking, stealth, individual combat, assassination, and even group combat. Naruto was able to past all the tests with little difficulty, except for the stealth, he had to avoid being tracked and caught by Kiba and considering Kiba was a natural tracker and one of the best among the Hunter-nins it was not an easy task. Even with the difficulty of the stealth portion Tenko was quite impressed by Naruto's performance. "You did well Naruto," Tenko said at the end of the day. "In fact I don't think you really need much instruction. The rest of you'll need, will be easily picked up after the first few assignments. Now the thing you'll need to remember is that a Hunter-nin can sometimes go several months with out getting an assignment or they can spend months on one. So you may not even get one for some time. So in between missions as a Hunter-nin you can often take missions open to your current rank. But your duties as a Hunter-nin come first so always report Hunter-nin office before you begin another mission."

"I understand," Naruto said.

"Good then I'll see you tomorrow," Tenko said. "Oh and Kiba, if we get a mission soon you might want to cut Naruto some slack at first after all he may get back at you if you go on a normal mission and he's your superior."

Kiba visibly paled at the comment and even more so when he saw the thoughtful expression and mischievous smirk on Naruto's face. "Say Naruto why don't we get some ramen and I tell you the different assignments you'll be working on."

"Sure," Naruto agreed.

At the ramen stand Kiba was explaining the different classes of Missing-nins, "So you D-Rank are usually ones that leave the village because they don't want to be shinobi anymore and go without permission. They're usually Gennin that have only minimal knowledge of the training methods. C-rank are shinobi that leave the village that are Chunin or above. They know training methods and can be considered a threat to villages. B-rank are usually Jounin or Anbu level that steal something from the village and try to sell it too another village. A-rank Missing-nins are also Jounin and Anbu that become a direct threat or have purposely killed members of the village. And S-rank are people that have committed crimes so horrible that all villages will kill them on sight if seen."

Naruto was nodding his head as he followed along, but when Kiba finished he had to ask, "Do we have to kill all Missing-nins we track down?"

"Well some villages do but we don't," Kiba answered. "We only kill ones that are B or above. D and C we either arrest them or put a special seal on them that keeps them from using jutsus or having their chakra pathways studied."

"Where did that jutsu come from?" Naruto asked.

"The Second made it," Kiba answered, "In fact it was the original idea for the Curse Seal of the Hyuuga Branch House."

"Yeah I remember Hinata-chan telling me that the Curse Seal was originally a binding seal given to those Hyuugas that were selected for duties outside the village," Naruto commented. "But after the division of the Main and Branch Houses was when the part that can cause death was added."

"That's the one," Kiba confirmed. "Well I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget until after you complete a few assignments on a team you won't do any solo work no matter how powerful you are."

"Thanks Kiba," Naruto replied, "I'll see you in the morning."

Naruto spent the next month and a half going on missions as both a Hunter-nin and a regular Jounin. He used experiences from both to complete the missions more efficiently. Thus only increasing is reputation as a very capable shinobi. He had mostly gone team missions as a Hunter-nin that involved more then one Missing-nin or an A-rank. But because of the skill he showed he was able to track the occasional B-ranks on his own. When he went on missions as a typical Jounin that required more than one person he would often find himself teamed up with Hinata as his medic. He figure that some higher power, Tsunade, had arranged these missions. For those that knew him and gave him the assignments knew he did not require a medic all that often. As a result Hinata would often become more of his combat partner than his medic. Another result of how much Naruto and Hinata were working together was they were becoming increasingly closer. If fact on one mission called for a pair to pose as newly-weds and of coarse they were selected.

That particular mission, while they were told it was a B-rank, it was nothing more than a C-rank at best. Apparently the hotel that requested the mission merely wanted to test their own security, and having two Jounin level ninja do the mission was more than excessive; having to give a full detailed report to Tsunade, even the sleeping arrangements, was more than enough to justify the classification. At least that's what Naruto and Hinata's impression was when they stood before the Hokage and saw her try, and fail, to keep from laughing during the report. They both vowed not to take any more missions that were from hotels that required a couple.

One day Naruto was called before Tsunade for a mission. There was no mention whether the mission would require him to be a Hunter-nin or not. Only that the Hokage had requested him directly. When he entered Tsunade's office he saw the typical sight of her avoiding work, "At least she's not sleeping this time," he thought. "You wanted to see me Hokage-sama."

"Yes Naruto," Tsunade said. "I have a mission for you that requires your unique position. News has reached us of a B-rank Missing-nin from Konoha. The problem is that the Missing-nin is in a far off country that does not have a shinobi village of it's own."

"Ok I understand you wanting a Hunter-nin for the job but why me?" Naruto asked.

"You did not let me finish," Tsunade said. "The B-class Missing-nin is only half the mission. An influential party in the Country also wishes to meet with someone from Konoha have sufficient rank that could negotiate a trade deal. Some one of at least Jounin level."

"I see," Naruto said, "And I'm the only Jounin level Hunter-nin available."

"That and the name Shadow Claw has certain influence in some areas," Tsunade said.

"I get the message," Naruto said. "So where…."

He was cut off when the door opened and someone else walked in, "Ah Hinata-chan glad you made it. I was just telling Naruto-kun about the mission you two will be going on."

Naruto looked at the Fifth with a frown, "This isn't another hotel mission is it?"

"No Naruto," Tsunade assured with a giggle after remembering how embarrassed the two were when she insisted on details from that mission, "Hinata, as the heir to the Hyuuga Clan will be going as a representative of Konoha Council. She is going for pure political reasons. It's only a coincidence that its her you are teaming up with." Naruto had a look that clearly said he did not believe her, but made no word of complaint either.

"Ok so back to my earlier question," Naruto said, "Where are we going?"

"You are going to Plains County," Tsunade said with a broad smile.

Naruto froze at the mention of the country after several seconds of silence he asked, "A…are you sure?"

"Yes," Tsunade said this time with a soft caring smile, "Jiraiya confirmed it himself. Once you arrive in Plains Country you are with the leader of Savil Tribe and get further details on the Missing-nin and then begin negotiations."

"I will take this mission Hokage-sama," Naruto said, "And thanks." Naruto bowed and took Hinata out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

No more than a day ago did Naruto and Hinata left for Plains Country. And during that time Jiraiya received the most disturbing news he got in years. The Akatsuki had reformed and according to his contacts they were on the move to capture Naruto because they still believed he had the Nine Tails sealed inside of him. When got the news he drop was he was doing, his notes for his new book, and left for the Hokage Office.

When he arrived he did not even waste the time to inform the guards he was going in. He merely yanked open the door surprising both the Third and the Fifth that were in the room. The Third was giving, her pointers on how to organize her paperwork since she had always been terrible at it, so Jiraiya had caught them just as Tsunade was about to sign off on an A-class mission. They were surprised by the sudden intrusion of the perverted Sannin, "We must send a team after Naruto and Hinata at once!"

The two behind the desk exchanged a look of confusion and Tsunade asked, "Why should we do that?"

"I have received information from some of my contacts about a threat to Naruto," Jiraiya said. "According to my sources the organization Akatsuki is after him."

"I thought you said that Akatsuki disbanded?" the Third asked.

"They were," Jiraiya answered, "But they heard that Naruto was still alive. And from previous information I had gathered, about them wanting the Kyuubi, I can guess that because they heard Naruto was still alive they could commence with their plans."

"Guards!" Tsunade called. Two Jounin that were outside the door entered, "Have Anbu Team 4, the best tracker in of the Hunter-nins, and Gai and Kakashi report to me immediately. Tell them I have an important mission for them."

"Yes Hokage-sama," the guards saluted and disappeared.

Once they left Jiraiya asked, "Why are you sending that many?"

"Akatsuki are S-class criminals," Tsunade answered, "And though I have faith in our shinobi I am not taking any chances. Akatsuki must have heard about Naruto's power, and thus they will send their best, and more than one or two"

"So you are sending our best to intercept them," the Third concluded, nodding in approval.

"Correct," Tsunade said. Just then the summoned shinobi and a nin-dog appeared. "I am sending all of you on a Class-A mission. There are currently an unknown number of S-class Missing-nins after Uzumaki Naruto. You are to track him down warn him of the situation and assist him if he already engaged in combat. While tracking Naruto down Inuzuka will be in charge, but during battle command will be shifted to the senior ranking Jounin, that means Kakashi, Gai then you Sasuke. You are to leave at once."

"Yes Hokage-sama," the seven Shinobi chorused.

Two days away from Konoha Naruto and Hinata are traveling at a leisurely pace, well leisurely for the seasoned shinobi. They were actually in no real rush, although Naruto was excited. He was only a couple of weeks away of finding living blood relatives, something he had wanted for his entire life. Naruto had brought along his Hunter-nin equipment because of the duel nature of the mission, but because this was not the main focus of the mission he just wore his normal Jounin outfit.

Hinata was also a bit excited by the nature of the mission. Well excited may have been the wrong word. Anxious would be more appropriate because she was nervous for this was the first time she would be representing the Hyuuga Clan, not to mention entire village. Just before the two had left Hiashi had met them outside of the Hokage Office and explained a bit more detail about her role in the mission. Hiashi had explained that as the heir to Hyuuga Clan she was to negotiate the details of the treaty. It turns out the Savil tribe has been a bit uncomfortable about opening trade with Konoha, with good reason. In fact it was only through Jiraiya's yearlong contact with the tribe that they agreed. But they insisted that Konoha send the representatives this time, other stipulations they insisted upon was that Naruto come an that Konoha send someone that could assist them in dealing with a Konoha Missing-nin that had been giving them trouble.

When Hinata asked why she was selected, her father explained that as the future leader of the Hyuuga Clan she would have to, on several occasions, represent the clan and Konoha in a diplomatic fashion and this was a good a time as any to begin. The fact being that once the Savil tribe had heard about Naruto being alive, Hiashi and the rest of the Council were informed of Naruto's relation to the tribe, were somewhat eager to meet with the village.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, "Are you worried about meeting the tribe?"

"I guess a little," Naruto answered. "I kind of wonder what kind of people they are. Ero-Sannin did not give much information about them. All he said was that they were not shinobi but they were pretty good fighters that many of the people in the west respected."

"I guess that's why Plains Country does not have a Hidden Village," Hinata commented.

"I guess so," Naruto agreed. "It's odd I guess, I have never met them before and I'm already nervous about whether or not they will accept me."

"I'm sure they will Naruto-kun," Hinata assured.

"Thanks Hinata-chan," Naruto smiled. "Why don't we stop in the next town for the night?"

"That's sounds good Naruto-kun," Hinata answered.

Not far from the two three figures dressed in black cloaks observed. "There's only one with the target," the tall one said. "I was hoping to have some fun on this mission."

"Do not underestimate them Kisame," the middle one said. "The girl appears to be the heir Hyuuga Clan, and according to our information she is quite skilled. And the target can apparently fight on S-level."

"Yeah," the third said, "He is the one known as Shadow Claw, yeah."

"Alright, Itachi," Kisame relented, "But I am looking forward to giving Samahade a taste of the Ninetails chakra."

"Deidara," Itachi said, "Send one of your birds to observe them." Didedra complied by making a clay bird about the size of a songbird and sent it off to the village.

"Why did you do that?" Kisame asked.

"So we know when they leave the town," Itachi answered, "We are still relevantly close to Konoha, if we cause problems in the town they will hear about it and send a rescue team. We do not want to draw attention to ourselves at this time."

That night the seven shinobi that Tsunade sent out to assist Naruto were speeding through the forest following the Hunter-nin and his dog. "Akamaru says if we keep this pace we'll be able to catch up with Naruto and Hinata by morning. And since we're short on time there will be no rest. If you're feeling tired just use the solider pill I gave you."

"Do we have any information on those that are after Shadow Claw?" one of the Anbu asked.

"Unfortunately no," Kiba answered, "S-class Missing-nins are unpredictable in the power and jutsus they know."

"So in other words everyone stay on your guard," Gai said in a serious tone.

The next morning Naruto awoke and noticed that Hinata was not in the bed next to him. The two rented a room with two beds instead of two rooms in order to save money. The only uncomfortable moment came was when the two decided to change to go to bed. Both were unsure as to who would go in to the bathroom and who would change in the room. After about an hour of indecision Naruto had to use the restroom and that solved the problem.

The next morning Naruto was the one to awaken first. He had not had an easy sleep he always felt that something was watching him the entire time. But whenever he would look around all he would see is the occasional bird. Because he figured it would be better to get dressed before Hinata woke up and avoid the confusion of the previous night Naruto went and changed in the bathroom. When he came out Hinata had woken up as

well. "Good morning Hinata-chan," Naruto greeted.

"Good morning Naruto-kun," Hinata returned.

"You should get dressed, then we'll go get some breakfast," Naruto said. Hinata nodded and went into the bathroom to change. Naruto began to gather their equipment and pack their bags when he glanced out the window and noticed a bird. He stared at it for a minute because it looked similar to ones he had seen earlier. "No," he thought, "Not similar, the same." Naruto's eyes widened in shock the only reason a bird would continue to follow them is if was some how being used to spy on them. He calmly went back to packing their things to try and make it look like he had not suspected anything. When Hinata came out, she was surprised to see all their stuff packed. Naruto met her gaze, with his back to the window and mouthed, "We need to leave we're being followed," the asked, "You ready?" Hinata nodded and the left the hotel, soon after they left the town entirely all the while keeping their guard up.

The three Akatsuki members waited as their spy returned. The clay bird seemed to have a silent conversation with its creator for a few minutes and dissolved, "They've left the town, yeah," Diredra said, "Let's go get them, yeah."

"Yes let's go," Itachi said, "And Kisame remember we need the boy alive."

"What about the girl?" Kisame asked.

Itachi was silent for a minute, "You can kill her, but keep the eyes intact they could prove useful later." Kisame nodded with a predatory smile.

Outside of town Naruto and Hinata were moving at a slightly faster pace than yesterday. They were making their way to an open area so they would have a better chance at spotting any attack that came. Hinata with her Byukagan activated was keeping an eye on their backs while Naruto was watching their fronts. All of a sudden Naruto caught the sent of a shark, someone with clay and a strangely familiar yet different at the same time. This caused him to stop and Hinata as well. Looking around Naruto tried to pinpoint the source and found that it was right in front of them. Just as soon as he noticed three figures in red and black clocks appeared. "Why are you following us?" Naruto asked.

"We are hear for something that you are in position of," the one with the medium height answered. "Our organization wishes to speak with you, Shadow Claw."

"I some how doubt that I would enjoy that meeting," Naruto responded, "So I'll have to decline." He and Hinata dropped back into their combat stances waiting to see what the three would do.

Kisame took his sword off his back and took an overhead swipe at Naruto. To his surprise Naruto was able to block the massive blade with a curved combat knife he pulled out from his back. His surprised did not last long as he smiled and pulled back on the sword tearing at Naruto's shoulder.

"AHH!" Naruto screamed as the sword ripped his flesh instead cutting it. When he looked at the now exposed blade he saw that it had several teeth like bits along the blade and he quickly surmised that was what caused his arm to be ripen open. Flipping backwards to get some distance from the shark like man Naruto called out, "Blade!" a vertical arc of chakra came from his foot and went towards his attacker. Kisame brought his sword up and watched as the chakra was absorbed. But to his surprise not all of it was absorbed and the remaining power sent him back two or three steps.

Only about three meters away Hinata was fighting Deidara. The Hyuuga was in her Gentle Fist stance waiting for the former Stone-nin to make her move. She did not have to wait long as she saw several small figures appear in the S-class criminal's hand.

Deidara formed her figurines saying, "Hyuugas fight at close range yeah, so I'll have to attack at long range, yeah." With a silent command she sent them towards Hinata.

When the figurines came close Hinata could tell that they were laced with chakra. But that was not what worried her, what she saw on the inside of the figurines did. Explosive notes were at the center of the figures and they looked like they would explode at any moment. "I hope I can pull it off," Hinata thought. When the clay figures got a little closer Hinata called out "Kaiten!" and waves of chakra poured out of her chakra holes forming a shield blocking the explosions that came from the figures.

"You're not bad, yeah," Deidara commented. "But how long can you keep that up? You still can't attack well at long range, yeah."

Hinata smiled a little at the underestimation of her opponent. She had a trick that she learned from Tsunade recently that she had been looking forward to using. She closed her fist and slammed it into the ground with so much force it cause a fissure to head towards her opponent. Deidara was surprised by this outcome, after all what Hinata just did complete antithesis of Gentle Fist. "I know more than Gentle Fist," was all Hinata said, getting into her stance that combined the two Taijutsus she knew.

"Deidara, Kisame," Itachi said, "Regroup, their better than we thought." The two jumped back and rejoined Itachi.

Naruto after seeing whom they were moved towards Hinata to warn her, "Hinata be very careful, these two S-class Missing-nins. And we can only assume the other one is too, so do not let your guard down for a moment."

Hinata nodded then noticed Naruto grabbing his right arm to stop the bleeding. "Naruto-kun I should treat your arm."

"It's already healing, so don't worry about it," Naruto said. "But it will take a few minutes to heal completely and because of how I was wounded I won't be able to use the Language of Martial Arts or Kamui until it's closed."

Back with the Akatsuki members Kisame was seething from the attack Naruto performed, "I don't know how the kid did it but he did a jutsu without hand seals. And on top of that he attacked with enough force so that Samehada did not absorb all the chakra."

"Yeah," Diedara said, "And the girl used more than just Gentle Fist, yeah."

"That is why I called you back," Itachi said. "They are better than we anticipated." Itachi then stepped forward and removed his hat so he could make direct eye contact with the Mangkyo Sharingan.

Naruto finally seeing whom the third person was cursed, "Shit! I was right he is an S-class Missing-nin, but not just any one that's Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother!" Knowing what the Sharingan could do Naruto moved in front of Hinata keeping his eyes away from Itachi's. He moved forward a couple of steps and kicked his back leg out in front of him calling, "Shrapnel!" several bits of chakra came off his foot and in a spread pattern towards Itachi.

Itachi seeing the projected path with Sharingan was able to dodge. But he was not the only target of the attack. Because jumped out of the way, the attack continued to the ones behind him. And while Kisame was able to absorb the attack with his sword, Diedara was not as fortunate and got caught by some of the bits of chakra. The chakra bits tore into her flesh causing several wounds, it was too bad that at that distance none of the cuts were large enough to cause permanent damage. When Itachi landed he was able to catch a glimpse of Naruto's eyes. But that was all he needed and began to pull Naruto into his own world.

Naruto suddenly found himself chained to a pole in some strange red-skied world. "I must be in a Genjutsu. But this is stronger than any I've ever experienced."

"Greetings Naruto-kun," Itachi said. "For the next seventy two hours you are in my world." He then began to torture Naruto inside his mind by having him being stabbed hundreds of times. After forty-eight hours of torture Itachi paused, "You seem to be able to resist my Mangkyo Sharingan. I thought only another Sharingan could do it. It must be do to the Kyuubi in you."

"I've…been…in…some…hellish…illusions…before," Naruto panted, "And…I…no…longer…have…the…Kyuubi." In all reality it was probably not a wise thing to admit to. But even with his better than average resistance Naruto wanted this to end as soon as possible so he would do anything to get out of it.

Itachi taken back by Naruto's admission said, "Very well then." And deactivated his jutsu.

In the real world Itachi just landed and all of a sudden Naruto collapsed to the ground. Hinata was able to catch him but was more than concerned as to what happened. Itachi mean while turned to his teammates and said, "He is no longer of any use to us. You can kill him." And proceeded to walk off.

"What ever you say Itachi," Kisame smiled at the thought of feeding his sword and approached the two.

Just before Kisame came upon the two some called out, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" a dragon made of pure fire rushed in between Kiasame and his targets. When the fire cleared he saw four Anbu, two Jounins and a Hunter-nin with a good-sized dog.

"Naruto are you all right?" Kakashi asked.

After hearing the attack Itachi paused and turned around. When his face came into sight the Anbu Captain removed his mask and revealed his younger brother with his own Sharingan eyes blazing with fury, "Well Little Brother, it appears you've gotten stronger."

"ITACHI!" Sasuke yelled. Normally he was one of the best at keeping his cool when facing an enemy, but after seeing the murderer of his clan. He could not control his rage and charged his brother, "CHIDORI!"

Itachi calmly watched his brother saying, "But you're still not strong enough." He was about to use his Mangkyo Sharingan when one of the Anbu caught what he was doing.

"Captain!" the Anbu pushed Sasuke out of Itachi's line of sight. This however caused him to be caught in the Genjutsu instead. Less than a second later the Anbu collapsed from the affects of the jutsu.

After Sasuke recovered from what his subordinate did, he saw his collapse. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He made another attempt but this time a large explosion occurred because Deidara seeing they were out numbered and weakened used one of her figurines as distraction to get away.

When the smoke cleared Sasuke looked around frantically for his brother and was about to run off when a voice stopped him, "Sasuke!" everyone turned to see Naruto being supported by Hinata address him, "Their gone let them go!"

Sasuke fumed at Naruto's order and stormed up to him, "I CAN'T LET HIM GO."

"Sasuke I know how…" Naruto said.

"YOU CAN'T KNOW HOW I FEEL…" Sasuke stopped when he met the ice-cold eyes of Naruto.

"I think you're forgetting whom you're talking to Sasuke," Naruto said in an even voice. "Your first duty is to your team. You know that."

Sasuke feeling his rage fade said, "Naruto I'm…"

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said his eyes softening, "Lets just get the wounded treated."

Thirty minutes latter Naruto had recovered enough to no longer need assistance to stand. The Anbu member was not as fortunate however, he was still in a coma and there was nothing Hinata could do, "You'll have to take him back to Konoha. Tsunade-sama will be the only one that help him."

"We'll leave right away," Sasuke said.

"And we'll continue with our mission," Naruto said.

"Naruto that is not wise," Kakashi said. "Those guys are after you and will be back."

"No they won't," Naruto said. "They were after the fox not me. And they know it's no longer in me.

"How did they know?" Gai asked.

"It's all right here," Naruto said holding up the scroll he had been writing in for the past half hour. "This is all that happened until you guys showed up. Be sure to give it to Tsuande. Hinata and I still have a mission to complete."

Sasuke knowing the affects of the his brother's jutsu asked, "Naruto are you sure? I know what it can do to you."

"After he learned about the fox he ended the jutsu," Naruto answered. "I only had to deal with about half the affects, and I was able to resist it a little because of my training. So don't worry I'm fine."

"Then we'll be off," Kiba said. "Hinata, it was good to see you again." With that the seven shinobi set off in the direction of Konoha.

After the rescue team left Hinata turned to Naruto and asked, "Are you sure you're ok Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered, "I'm just tired, that Mangkyo Sharingan took a lot out of me."

"Well then," Hinata said in a commanding tone, "We will rest hear until you are feeling better."

Knowing better than to argue with Hinata when she got like this Naruto complied saying, "Whatever you say Hinata-chan."

After Naruto rested for another day the two continued on their way to Plains Country. It took them another two and a half weeks to finally reach the Country. And as they entered they knew instantly why the country was called Plains Country. For as far as they two shinobi could see there was almost nothing but tall grass gently swaying in the breeze.

"Lets see," Naruto said looking at the map, "According to the last town the main camp for the tribe is about twenty kilometers west of here."

"I wonder what kind of people they are like?" Hinata asked.

Before Naruto could respond a voice to their right answered, "We are modest yet proud people." The two shinobi turned to see a middle-aged man dressed in loose fitting tan shirt and pants, "You made good time Konoha ninjas, and I must say it is an honor to meet you Uzumaki Naruto, I am Jules Tame, your second cousin."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Naruto and Hinata were waiting patiently in the center tent of a large encampment. They were escorted here by the man they met, Jules Tame, when they began to ask some questions he said that they would have plenty of time to discuss everything once they reached the encampment. When the three arrived Naruto and Hinata noticed several things that seemed to stand out to them. 

The first thing they noticed was the assortment of the tents in the encampment. What they saw was similar to the arrangement they experienced just a few weeks before hand. The camp had the layout of a military camp. But instead of just shinobi, or in this case nomadic warriors, there were all facets of life. From people selling various wares, such as clothing and livestock, to children playing around interior to people practicing various forms of combat.

The second thing Naruto and Hinata noticed was the fact that some of the people looked like they were about to leave. When asked Tame, said that this was the central camp. That meant that parts came and went on several occasions. It was actually seldom that this camp was moved. But incase of an emergency, such as a large wild fire or enemy attack, the entire camp could be moved to a safer location in just a few hours time. The two shinobi guessed that it was because of the nomadic nature of the tribe that they were able to move a camp nearly three times larger than that the military camp they were apart of took less time to move.

The last thing they noticed was that several of the people in the camp had features similar to Naruto. Whether it was from his bright blond hair to his deep blue eyes to his whisker marks. The last part confused Naruto the most, ever since he found out about the Kyuubi he assumed that they were a result of the demon. Now it appeared that they were a trait from his family. Naruto directed his question to Tame, but he said that would be explained at a later time. This made both Hinata and Naruto wonder if there was some kind of secrete that had to do with the marks only increasing their desire to know the truth.

After they arrived at the central tent Tame told them that the leader of the tribe would greet them momentarily. They were told that leader was taking care of some disturbances not far from the camp, but would return shortly. When they were left alone Hinata asked Naruto, "Are you feeling ok Naruto-kun?"

"I guess I am," Naruto answered, "To be honest I was not really believing that these people could be my family on the way here." He looked at Hinata and saw she had a confused face, "What I mean is that I did hope that I could find some family here, but I did not have many expectations either. I guess I was a little scared that the information Ero-Sannin had gotten was wrong."

"And know that you have seen them?" Hinata asked concerned.

"I don't really know what to expect," Naruto answered, "I mean just by looking at them you can see the similarities." He then looked at his hands and thought, "Minus the claws and pupils that is." He then spoke up, "But what really surprised me was that people had similar birth marks to me, that was something I never expected. I had always thought they were from…well you know."

Hinata took Naruto's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, "I'm sure they will tell you everything Naruto-kun, they are your family after all."

"That we are," a female voice said from the entrance. The two shinobi were startled by the surprise and stood and turned to the source. They turned to the entrance and were greeted by a tall woman with the same blue eyes and blond hair as Naruto; the woman also had four whisker marks on each cheek. "You look so much like your mother it's stunning," the woman said. Seeing the surprised looks on their faces she responded, "Forgive me, my name is Savile Isalia, the leader of the Savile tribe. And you of coarse are Uzumaki Naruto." She looked directly at Naruto, "And you must be the representative of Konoha," she said gesturing towards Hinata.

"Y…yes," Hinata replied coming out of her surprise, "I am Hyuuga Hinata. Here to represent our village."

"Some one from the Legendary Hyuuga's," Isalia smiled, "It is an honor to meet you. But business came come latter. Right now I want to get to know my sister's son."

"Sister?" Naruto asked. "Then that means…"

"Yes I'm your Aunt," Isalia said. "And that also means I'm the sister of your village's Forth Hokage as well. He would have been my younger brother and you mothers elder brother if he had not died." A look of regret and sadness passed over her eyes, but it quickly faded, "So you can call me Isalia. Now I know we all have a lot of questions so why don't we have a seat and get to know each other." She then walked past the two shinobi and took a seat on a cushion about a meter or so away from them. They then retook their previous seats. "It is customary among our tribe to allow the guests to ask the first questions when meeting for the first time, so please ask anything you want."

Naruto did not even have to think of his first question, it just came out of his mouth, "Who were my parents?"

Isalia smiled again, "As I said your mother was my sister, her name was Savile Liana and her husband, your father, was Savile Moto. They were both skilled warriors that an inspiration and still are an inspiration to other members of the tribe. You get your hair color, eye color and birth marks from her, they are traits that quite common among our people. Our family has long been the leaders of our tribe and she would stand in as leader when I was a way. Your father was also from our tribe and married you mother about seventeen years ago. He had brown spiky hair with green eyes and was one our best warriors." She then got another sad look to her face, "You were their first child, and when they found out she was with child they were the happiest couple in the village, they planned on naming you after Moto's father, Gau."

"Why did they go to Konoha?" Naruto asked. "I mean if she was pregnant with me at the time why risk it?"

Isalia chuckled at that, "Because she was a rather stubborn woman. When we received news that our brother was possibly alive and the fact that he was the Kage of Konoha, she insisted that we meet him. And because the leader could not just leave the tribe for extended periods of time, and our parents had already died it only left her to represent our family. We argued for a week about whether or not she should go. In the end it was her stubbornness and the promise that she would not exert herself on the journey that finally won the argument. When we had not heard from her or any of the others that went with her we assumed the worst and mourned their passing. Then we heard about you from Jiraiya and mourned a second time. Then we heard about you actually being alive and…"

"Sent word that you wanted to meet me," Naruto finished. Both nephew and aunt were close to tears at end. Naruto because of the lost chance to know his parents and Isalia because of the memories it brought back. 

After calming down a little she asked, "Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Not right now," Naruto answered. "So I guess it's your turn."

"Yes of course." Isalia said. She then asked, "Would you please tell me about yourself?"

"Well my name is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto began. "I am also called Shadow Claw," he then looked directly at Isalia and said, "But if you want you can call me Gau." Isalia's eyes widened in shock and surprise and then small tears began to form, which she quickly blinked away. "I like my village, friends and ramen. I am a Jounin that is also been recently assigned to the Hunter-nins. My dreams for the future are to be Hokage and learn more about my family."

Isalia's smile after hearing about Naruto's second dream could rival Naruto's fox-like smiles in size, "I am sure you'll accomplish both," she said. "Now I'm sure you're both tired from you journey. After you rest for the night we will begin the business part of our meeting."

Hinata then spoke up, "We appreciate your kindness Isalia-san. I believe we could use some rest." 

Isalia gave a soft smile and then called out, "Zala!" a woman in her early twenties came into the tent, "Please take our guests to where they can rest and get cleaned up. Then tell the rest of the tribe that tonight we celebrate the return of my nephew Gau."

"Yes ma'am," Zala said. "Sir, Ma'am, please come with me." The two nodded and followed her out the tent.

That night was a night Naruto and Hinata would remember for the rest of their lives. The celebration was unlike anything either had ever experienced before. In Konoha many of the celebrations involved people doing their own things. Like setting up their own game booths or performing with small groups of people while others gathered around and then when the activities were done people would enter a solemn moment of reflection. The celebration in camp was very different. Everyone was involved with the activities, from the children to the elderly to warriors to craftsmen. It could only be a celebration of life, and in a way it was, for it was a celebration at the news of one of their own that everyone thought dead was alive and well.

The celebration started with music and dancing. Everyone was involved, even Naruto and Hinata. The concept of the first part was quite simple, if you were not dancing then you were playing an instrument and if you were not playing an instrument you were dancing. The music playing was a way to give anyone who was tire from dancing a chance to rest while still participating. At first Hinata and Naruto did not know what to do, but Isalia informed then that they could watch for the first part, but latter they had to join in, "Family tradition," she told them. So the two from Konoha watch as things began to grow in activity. The dancing consisted of three rings around a large bonfire. The first ring was consisted of people lined up next to each other doing simple steps and jumps while moving in a clockwise motion. The second ring involved clusters of four people standing north, south east and west, clapping and dancing in a complex rhythm of interchanging positions; they would dance for a few minutes facing outward then pause turn toward the center of the cluster then move in a counter clock wise motion to the position immediately to the left then turn around and begin again. The last ring was not so much a ring but a large grouping of the rest of the dancers; here people would perform complex acrobatics and rhythmic dance with not one being exactly like the others but still similar. Each ring represented a different part of beliefs of the tribe. The out ring represented the tribe itself, each person being unique but still part of the tribe. The second ring symbolized the four great guardians that protected the tribe's ancestors. And the inner ring around the fire represented the soul of people.

Only after a few minutes of watching Naruto joined in. The first thing he did was make his way to the inner ring and joined in the procession right next to Isalia and Tame. After a just a few clumsy steps he got the hang of it and went at like he was doing his entire life. After a few rounds he disengaged from the ring and joined in the second ring. This in relative terms because of the complexity he took too much faster. After two of his partners left he was once again joined by Isalia and instead of Tame, the woman Zala joined in. Then finally after a half an hour of dancing in the second ring Naruto tried his luck at the outer most ring, to everyone's surprise Naruto was able to do this part the easiest. He took to the rhythmic and acrobatic dancing like he was doing it his entire life, "It's in his blood," some one said while watching him dance.

While Naruto was having fun dancing Hinata was feeling out of place. She was too unsure of herself to try and dance and did not know how to play any of the instruments. So she was kind of left to herself, that was until one of the young children came up to her and handed her a small drum. Hinata not wanting to upset the child took it and started to slap the drum. The sight made the child smile and Hinata began to put more effort into it. And though she still did not know how to play it well she was at least able to match the rhythm and keep up with the beat. After a few minutes Hinata found herself being pulled by the child over to the rest of the people playing the instruments and soon got lost in the unique music being played around her. She became so lost in it that she did not notice that Naruto had come to join the instrument until he was right next to her playing a wooden flute. She gave him a surprised look as she listened to how well he played; he just shrugged his shoulders and gestured for her to keep going to which she happily complied.

After the music and dancing ended the feast began. Everyone sat in circles of ten with large amounts of food and drink in the center. Naruto and Hinata were apart of Isalia's group to which they were introduced to Naruto's other closest living relatives. His grandparents from his mother's side Ku his grandmother and Karshink his grandfather. His cousin, Isalia's daughter, Lita and her husband Dag. And their child, who was the one who gave Hinata the drum, Jade. And finally Tame and his wife Rei. At the dinner everyone who could had to serve someone else. This was to show that everyone in the tribe was treated as an equal, no one in servitude to another. Hinata particularly liked this ritual, seeing how she never liked the idea of the Branch House being in servitude to the Main House.

By the time the celebration ended it was well into the night. Many of the younger children were beginning to fall asleep and their parents would take them away to bed. Finally when Jade began to fall asleep those with Naruto and Hinata began to separate as well. When Naruto began to leave Isalia's voice stopped him, "Remember Gau," Naruto for the briefest moments wondered who Gau was, then he remembered he said they could call him the name his mother would have given him, "We have much to discuss tomorrow, including tracking down the Konoha Missing-nin and the trade between us."

"I won't forget," Naruto said and he helped Hinata up and took her too the tent they were given.

In the morning Naruto and Hinata were awakened by the beginnings of the tribe. After getting cleaned up and dressed they left the tent and decided to explore the camp a little. They were told to meet with Isalia around nine o'clock and it was only about seven so they had plenty of time. They watched, as the various merchants put out cloth, jelwery, and foods unique to the tribe in preparation for the caravans that were scheduled to come latter in the day. While looking at the jewelry Naruto noticed that one particular item caught Hinata's eye. It was a pendant in the shape of bird, when Hinata asked what it was the merchant said the bird was called a Crystal Hawk. He said it was based on a legend from the country to the north about a bird that was said to have feathers that shined like crystal in the moon light. Hinata thanked the man for the story and moved on to the next shop. When she was not looking Naruto went with instinct and bought the necklace as a present and would give it too her after the meeting.

The next stop they made was to watch as the warriors of the tribe practice their fighting. As active shinobi they were both interested in fighting styles of others and watched with ramped attention. There appeared to be two methods of fighting that existed among the warriors. One was a style that used hands and throws and the other seemed to be mostly focusing on weapons. For some reason Naruto felt the movements of the hand style seemed very familiar to him. But for the life of him he could not remember where.

When it came time to begin the meeting Isalia, who was so friendly the day before, became all business. "As per prior arrangements," Isalia spoke, "Before we begin negotiations for trade, we require an act of good faith on your part. And that act will be your assistance in the tracking down and eliminating the Missing-nin from Konoha that has been giving us trouble for the past few months."

"Yes we were informed of the arrangement," Naruto said. "If you could give us any information that you may have, such as description of attacks or physical characteristics then I should be able to tell you the best way to find him. I may even be able to tell you whom this Missing-nin is."

"The Missing-nin is about is only a few centimeters taller than you Gau," Isalia said. "And he has silver hair, but other than that we do not know much about him physically at least. He keeps his face covered," Naruto nodded in understanding, "He seems to use basic Fire Jutsus as his primary, but has been known to use Leaf Jutsus as well."

"What about unique weapons?" Naruto asked.

"Only standard kunai and shuriken," Isalia answered.

"Smart," Naruto said, "He uses only common jutsus and weapons to keep his identity a secret."

"Are you sure?" Isalia asked, "May be he just does not know other jutsus."

"Unlikely," Naruto said, "He has been rated at least a B-class, that means he's a Jounin or Anbu. That usually means that they have something unique to them. So when he become a real threat he will use his signature jutsus."

"I see," Isalia said, "Well you the Missing-nin usually attacks out going caravans that are headed to the west. So our plan is to start the search there."

"Understood," Naruto said, "When do I leave and whom am I teaming up with?"

"You will accompanying Lita on this mission," Isalia answered, "She has encountered him before and know at least some of how he fights. She also knows the region we suspect he might be in as well. And you will leave as soon as she gets here."

Ten minutes later Lita entered the tent apologizing, "I am sorry ma'am, but Jade was acting up this morning."

"Very well," Isalia said, "I'll only excuse it this time because I know how much trouble he can be."

The two then left on their way to hunt the Missing-nin. During the run Naruto was surprised that Lita was able to keep up with him. Granted he was not running at his best speed, but he was still running much faster than he expected from the nomads. Deciding he would test her a little Naruto sped up only to have Lita match his speed. He then looked over only to notice a smile on her face and then started to pull away. That was when Naruto learned she was actually testing him and ran up to catch her.

After about a half an hour of running Lita started to slow down indicating she wanted to stop. Naruto caught the message and soon both shinobi and nomad were standing next to each only lightly breathing, "Should have known you could keep up with us," Naruto said.

"Naturally," Lita said, "We don't use horses except to pull heavy loads so we have to be able to make great distances on foot, that requires speed and stamina."

"So how close are we?" Naruto asked.

"Not far," Lita answered, "The Missing-nin's normal target area is around here. The problem is we are not used to tracking shinobi so we are not able to find him."

"I however am," Naruto said, "Let me take the lead this time." Lita nodded and Naruto started forward. Soon they came to an area and Naruto all of a sudden stopped, "I think I know why you have not been able to find this Missing-nin."

"And why is that?" Lita asked.

"Because he is using a Genjutsu/Ninjutsu trap in his attacks," Naruto answered, "They are hard to detect for even experienced shinobi."

"Then how did you detect it?" Lita asked curious.

"I've had special training," Naruto responded, "And my senses are well above others." 

Lita nodded thinking that it had something to do with the Hunter-nin training. "So how do we deal with it?"

"Unfortunately we have to split up from here," Naruto said, "Only a person with experience can deal with these types of traps. You have to get to the center of the area of effect to negate it."

"Why?"

"Because if you try and go around the Ninjutsu part the Genjutsu will turn you around and if you try to dispel the Genjutsu the Ninjutsu attacks you."

"So you have to deal with both at the same time," Lita nodded, "All right I'll wait here. But because we are separating how will we know when we meet up with each other?"

"Like this," Naruto said while perform some hand seals saying, "Kage Bushin No Jutsu." A single close appeared and stood next to Lita, "My Kage Bushin will tell you when the trap is gone as well as tell you if I'm the one that comes out."

"Why not send in the Kage Bushin then?"

"The Ninjutsu would destroy it," Naruto answered, "It would not last long enough." With that said he slowly made his way into the trap.

As Naruto made his way into the trap he could feel the Genjutsu assaulting his senses. But he could tell that like with all Genjutsu/Ninjutsu it did not do a complete job. So he concentrated to find which sense was not affected. After a few minutes of trail and error Naruto determined that it did not affect his sense of smell. Sniffing the air Naruto detected the faint smell of ink and made his way to its source. The closer he got to the source of the ink Naruto began to detect another sent as well. The more he thought about it the more he knew this sent. He smelled many times back in Konoha, the sent of leaves from the forest surrounding the village. He knew that he was getting close to the Missing-nin.

Naruto moved closer to the source of the sent of ink, he detected that the sent of leaves was moving away from the ink. Part of him was worried about this but he would not let the opportunity to dispel the trap escape him. Concentrating on the smell Naruto found the exact direction and through several kunai at the source. He then felt dizzy for a moment and he then felt his senses return to normal.  
Lita had just witnessed Naruto enter the area of the Genjutsu/Ninjutsu trap. As she watched she became nervous for her cousin, seeing this the Kage Bushin said, "Don't worry as long as I'm here that means that he's still alive and conscious. I'll also be able to tell you when he succeeds."

"How?" Lita asked.

"You forget," the Kage Bushin responded, "I can do everything he can. So that means I can detect the trap just like him and will be able to tell when it is gone."

"Well you tell just as soon as it is," Lita said. The Kage Bushin nodded. 

After several minutes the Kage Bushin detected someone coming out of the trap and it knew immediately it was not Naruto, "Company is coming and it's not Naruto."

Just as it said this a masked ninja with a scratched forehead protector came into view, "I thought I detected a person at the edge of my field, but I never expected to see a Konoha Hunter-nin with a Nomad." Not waiting time the Missing-nin attacked Lita and the Kage Bushin sharing Naruto's personality jumped in front of her and took the attack. It then disappeared into a puff of smoke. "A Kage Bushin? Damn that means…" he then detected the Genjutsu/Ninjutsu disappear, "Looks like I have to make this quick." He then began to perform several hand seals calling out, "Katon Karyuu Endan!"

Naruto felt a twinge in his chakra signifying the destruction of his Kage Bushin, "Damn that means Lita's getting attacked." He then turned and following his own sent trail ran as fast as he could back to where he left his cousin.

It only took Naruto a few seconds to return to where his cousin was because of his previously slow speed was what took all the time. When he arrived he saw the Missing-nin perform jutsu and was about to jump in when his cousin did something he never expected. She went into a stance he recognized the Nomad warriors practicing, but was surprised him more was what she did next. She called out "Katana!" and an attack came of her fist forming a long swirling shaft of wind. She used the attack to disperse the fire dragon and hit the Missing-nin. But because the dragon weakened the attack it did not kill the Missing-nin.

Lita smirked at look on the Missing-nin's face as the attack hit him in the chest. She was about finish him off when she heard a familiar voice call out, "Rapier!" she then saw Naruto hit the Missing-nin in the back killing him instantly. When Naruto landed Lita calmly walked up to Naruto and he said, "I though I recognized those stances your warriors were practicing. I saw similar stances on carvings a little over two years ago. Those are the stances for the Karuda Killing Art Open Skill."

"And the technique you performed is from the lost style Shadow Skill," Lita returned, "Our legends speak of Shadow Skill as the lost half of our ancestors. I believe we have more to discuss once we get back to camp cousin." 


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

When the two came back, his cousin informed the tribe leader of the battle and the style Naruto fought with. For several minutes she just stared at Naruto with a look of disbelief. It was almost beyond her comprehension that some one could know Shadow Skill. It was a style that was only spoken of in ledged. Finally after several minutes of silence she asked if it was true, with a simple nod from his head began several hours of him retelling his story on how he was taught Shadow Skill. From the fight on the bridge in Wave Country to meeting Deis to his training to his return to Konoha and finally the execution of Kanon in the fight war.

After Naruto finished Isalia spoke up, "Darkness must have been watching us for a long time and actually planned this."

"But why would he do that?" Lita asked.

"Well don't ask me," Naruto said, "Even though I spent two years with him I still can't figure out his motives."

"That goes along with legends," Isalia said, "Even the Savars of Karuda only knew a little about Darkness. The stories that mention him only say that his motives were his own, but would often be of benefit to those he showed an interest in."

"Now the question is," Naruto said, "How was it the tribe was able to retain the Open Skill of Karuda but not the Shadow Skill."

"We are not sure," Isalia said, "All that the stories say is limited descriptions on three of the techniques and that it was lost about the time Karuda was destroyed."

"Perhaps the Master of Shadow Skill at that time did not have an apprentice and died in the disaster," Hinata suggested.

"That could be possible," Kita said.

"But unfortunately the only one that could truly answer that question in Darkness," Isalia said. "You wouldn't happen to know how to contact him, Gau?"

"No," Naruto answered, "One night while I was recovering after I successfully performed Kanon he left. I awoke the next morning and he was gone, all that I found was a message saying how to get back to Konoha."

"I wonder why he did not give you directions to us," Kita wondered.

"Again the only one who could answer that is him," Isalia responded. She then turned to Naruto and asked, "Now the next question is, what will you do now? Not only are you a member of our tribe, but you also have knowledge of our heritage that has been lost do to the passage of time."

"Plus you are also a Konoha shinobi as well," Hinata said.

"I'm not too sure, I've still got my dreams and a family of close friends back in Konoha," Naruto said, "But I also have a family here. I guess for now I would like to stay and get to know my blood relatives a little bit more, but we have to get the trade treaty back to Konoha soon."

"There are still details that need to be worked out but can only be done in person," Isalia said. "We were planning on visiting Konoha in a couple of month after we met you. I would like to visit the graves of my deceased family."

Months had passed since Naruto and Hinata left Konoha. Finally after about two months past when a messenger toad came from Naruto saying that he had met them and would return soon. He explained that the leader of the tribe and a couple of members of her family were also coming in order to finalize the trade agreement and visit the grave of the Forth. Those that were close too them were anticipating the return of the Shadow Skill Master and the Hyuuga heir. But when four months past and there was still no word on their location people began to become worried. Some were afraid that Naruto ran into members of the Akatsuki again or that Orochimaru's forces got a hold of him. Many more were worried that the Hyuuga Heir had been captured or killed and the secrets of the Bykugan had fallen into enemy hands.

The only one that seemed for sure that nothing happened to the two teens was Jiraiya. He would say that if anything happened to the two he would hear about it. He had connections all over the content and he had not received any word from them. Of coarse those that would criticize the pervert would day if your network was so good then why can you not find them. And his reply would be he had not instructed his contacts to be on the active look out for them, so they would not be actively looking for them. This did not alleviate many people's fears, especially the Hyuuga Elders.

The Hyuuga Elders were not too keen on sending the Heir so far away from the village with only one bodyguard, and not of the Hyuuga Clan. Regardless of the fact that said bodyguard was probably better than several Hyuuga combined. Hiashi was confident that Naruto could handle himself and protect Hinata, he did see his skills first hand during the war, but even he was questioning his judgment when he agreed with Sundae to allow the two to go on their own. As a result word was spread among the Hyuugas that were on active shinobi status that they should keep their eyes, ears, noses, and any other body parts that could detect sensation for any sign of Hinata.

Neji was returning to Konoha after a solo low level B-Class Mission. He took as many out of village missions as he could in hopes of hearing any information about Hinata. He had grown very close to his eldest cousin over the last couple of years and was one of the most worried about her. He was about five days travel away from Konoha when he felt several bursts of chakra several hundred meters away. Stopping on a tree he activated his Bloodline Limit and focused in on the chakra bursts. He wanted to see the source because, since he was in Fire Country's borders, there was a good chance a Konoha-nin was involved. And if there was he would help, if not then he would spy on them and report back to the Hokage when he returned. When his gaze settled in on the source he saw a group of five people engaging in combat. He saw that it appeared to be somewhat of a free for all as no one person seemed to be helping another. The fight seemed to be consisted mostly of Taijutsu styles that he was not familiar with. Then again he was not like his former teacher or teammate that memorized every Taijutsu style there was. He watched for several minutes and noted that the bursts of chakra came from Ninjutsu that would occasionally be thrown out. He was about to move on when he saw the other four circled the fifth one. He noted that this person was female and had hair similar to him, he could not see her face because her back was to him and he had not paid enough attention earlier to focus on individuals faces. The four people waited a few seconds before charging in, that was when the female performed a jutsu that only Hyuugas could perform, the Kaiten. Not giving it a second though Neji ran as fast as he could to the battle with one thought in his mind, "Hinata!"

It only took Neji a minute to reach the battle site, during that time Neji observed as the attackers continued to come at Hinata and saw that she would fend then off with her own derived style. When he finally arrived he called out, "Hinata-sama!"

Hinata who had been focused on her four opponents got distracted when she heard her name called. He lapse in focus caused one of the people to attack her. Neji seeing this acted on instinct and charged the attacker. He was about to land a fatal blow when he suddenly felt his hand stop. He noticed a clawed hand was grabbing his wrist stopping his hand only a centimeter from his target. Following the arm attached to the hand he came face to face with a blond haired Hunter-nin, "That is not a way to say hello to official representatives to Konoha, Neji."

"Naruto?" Neji said recognizing the mask and voice. The Hunter-nin removed the mask revealing Naruto's face. Naruto released Neji's wrist as he did, "What is happening here?"

"We were having a sparring session Neji-nisan," Hinata answered.

"We weren't expecting any welcome this far out Neji," Naruto said, "Are you part of the welcoming party or just passing through?"

"Just passing through," Neji answered still very confused. "Who are these people?"

"These are some of the representatives of the Savile Tribe," Naruto answered. Pointing to the four, "Zala, Lin, Lita and her husband Dag. Lita is my cousin from my mother's side."

"Cousin?" Neji asked.

"Yeah," Naruto answered, "Look our camp is not far come with us and I'll explain a few things."

Neji could only nod as the four strangers left soon followed by Naruto and Hinata arm in arm. As he watched he thought, "They have clearly become much closer."

As they neared the camp Naruto began to explain, "Well we decided to come to Konoha a few months ago and that is what brings us here. We decided to stop for the day because we had been traveling for a while. I got to tell you we ninja's have nothing on nomads when it comes to traveling long distances, they just keep going. At the pace they travel at it only took us about a week to get this far."

"If they travel so quickly then why has it been so long since your last message?" Neji asked.

"Well we kind of got distracted for a couple of months," Naruto said scratching the back of his head. Neji gave him a questioning look to which Naruto replied, "Some things came up that kind of took priority for a while."

"Was there any kind of attack?" Neji asked.

"No," Naruto answered simply.

"Then what happened?" Neji asked once again.

"Well actually…" Naruto started to get a little nervous; this did not go unnoticed by Neji. He saw Naruto glance at Hinata, Neji glanced as well and saw his cousin had a most peculiar face. It seemed like mix between pride, nervousness, uncertainty and anxiousness. "We, well, we…"

Naruto's explanation was cut off by a call from the camp, "Gau! Hinata! The rabbits are almost done!"

"We're coming Aunt!" Naruto called back.

Forgetting the looks on his two fellow shinobi's faces insight of Naruto responding to the strange name Neji asked, "Why did she call you Gau?"

"Well that's the name my mother was going to name me," Naruto answered, "I gave the tribe permission to call he that."

"So how many names do you go by now?" Neji asked.

"Just the three," Naruto answered, "My Konoha name, my Savile name, and my fighting name."

"We should go," Hinata said wanting to keep Neji from asking any further questions. She had caught Neji giving them a strange look when just before Isalia called. And to be honest she did not want to answer any questions at the moment.

When they finally arrived Neji was introduced to the rest of the group that came with Hinata and Naruto, they included Isalia and Jade that had come along with her parents. There were only a total of ten people, not counting the two from Konoha in the camp so it was not very big. As Neji observed the actions of the people around him he could not help but noticed the kindness and respect each showed each other and how every treated Jade with a gentleness he had only seen a few times in his life. Too him it seemed that everyone treated the child as their own, this included Hinata and Naruto. Finally after several hours everyone began to turn in for the night. "Sorry about this but we don't have any spare tents for you Neji-nisan," Hinata apologized.

"Do not let it worry you Hinata-sama," Neji said, "I was returning from a mission so I have my gear with me. I am not inconvenienced." Hinata nodded in response and when off to get some sleep.

The next day Neji awoke with the sunrise and exited his tent. When he got out he noticed three of the nomads were already up standing around the small camp. He figured they were assigned guard duty because he saw the alertness each possessed. Neji had to admit, after seeing the sparring match yesterday and the alertness of the guards these nomads would make worthy opponents for even some of the best in Konoha. After making a small greeting to the guards Neji went to begin his morning exercises when the young girl Jade stopped him. "Good morning Uncle," Jade greeted. "Do you fight like Aunt Hinata?"

"Yes I do fight like her," Neji answered with a bewildered voice, "But why did you call Hinata-sama your aunt and me you uncle?"

"Because you are," Jade answered.

"And why is that?" Neji asked.

"Because you're Aunt Hinata's cousin and she married Uncle Gau," Jade answered. "So that make you my uncle."

Neji was stunned, not something that happened much. After several seconds of silence he yelled, "MARRIED?"

In their tent Naruto and Hinata were woken up, "Looks like someone told him," Naruto said with a sigh.

"We were going to have to tell everyone when we got back anyway," Hinata replied. "Still even I had wished to put it off."

Author's note: This was a short Chapter but it will lead into the next section of the story.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Neji was not happy, in fact he was rather angry. Not only because he found out that his cousin was now married, but also because they refused to tell him. When he confronted them about their relationship and the statement from the young child Jade, they simply said they would explain later. When he demanded to know why Naruto said it would just be easier for everyone if they explained it at one time instead of telling them separately. Seeing that the matter was closed Neji, much to his displeasure, he let the matter be dropped. Of coarse Neji from that point on was never more than about two meters away from the couple, this included nighttime as well. If one were to observe they would either pity the couple or have the highest respects for their patients because of what was denied to them at night.

As they neared the Main Gate, Naruto, Hinata and Neji took the lead. About ten meters from the gate they were stopped by several guards, "State your names and business for entering the village."

"Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata," Naruto answered. "We are returning from our mission to Plains Country and are now escorting representatives to sign a trade agreement."

"Hyuuga Neji," Neji answered. "Returning from a B-Rank mission. I ran into them on the way here."

"Welcome back," the guard said, "Report to Hokage-sama immediately, she has been anxious to see you for quite some time."

"Not a problem," Naruto said, "We have a lot to talk about."

"That we do," Neji said. He then turned to the guard and said, "Would you please inform Hyuuga Hiashi that Hyuuga Hinata has returned and to come to the Hokage Office. There are matters that require his attention as well."

"Yes Sir," the guard singled to let the party in and then left to find Hiashi.

When they entered the village the first thing the members of the Savile tribe noticed was the four stone faces on the mountain side and one that was currently being worked on. The face they focused on was the fourth face. Isalia thought it looked like her father only much younger. She assumed that it was the Fourth Hokage, her lost brother. Seeing their gaze Naruto explained, "That is the Hokage Monument, the faces are carved into the mountain as a showing of respect. The fifth face they're working on belongs to the current Hokage, Tsunade."

"And where is the actual graves of the Hokages?" Isalia asked. "Or more to be more precise the Fourth's?"

"Outsiders are not permitted to see their actual graves," Neji commented."

"I'm sure Tsunade will make the exception for family," Naruto said. Neji got did not like the comment about family, for it reminded him of the past few days, but remained quite.

It did not take long for them to reach the Hokage Tower. By that time many had heard of the representatives from Plains Country and the return of the Hyuuga Heir. Many stared openly at the travelers and could not help but notice the similarities between the blond haired members of the group and the memories of the Fourth Hokage. This only increased their curiosity and made them stare even more. The only one that seemed affected by the stares was the young child of the group, who was trying to hide in-between two young adults that they could only assume was the child's parents.

As soon as they entered the entire group was guided into the Hokage Office. Inside there were several people, including the current Hokage, Jiraiya, Hiashi, and various Anbu and Jounins; including some of Naruto and Hinata's friends. When the group entered the office the three shinobi bowed, Neji then went off to the side, he would give his report latter. This meeting was for Naruto, Hinata, and their guests only. "Hokage-sama," Naruto said, "I am happy to report that my mission was successful, and I would like to introduce Savile Isalia, Leader of the Savile Tribe and her party acting as representatives for the Savile Tribe. They are here to finalize the trade agreement."

The entire group, minus Naruto and Hinata, bowed in greeting to Tsunade. Tsunade returned the bow speaking, "It is an honor to greet you. I am sure the trade agreement will benefit both us."

"The honor is ours esteemed Hokage," Isalia answered. "We have long wished to meet with you village. But various complications have prevented this meeting until now."

Tsunade nodded, "Now as it was an official mission, Naruto please give your report." Naruto then told of his mission from the time of the attack from the Akatsuki to the arrival at the central camp to the meeting with Isalia and the elimination of the Missing-nin. When he was finished Tsunade addressed Hinata, "Hinata, since your mission involved separate goals, would you give your report?" Hinata nodded and began just like Naruto's the difference came when Naruto left after the Missing-nin and she went into detail about was has already been discussed at the initial agreements that were discussed at the meeting. "Thank you Hinata, we shall arrange a meeting with the Village Council in a few days time." She then turned to the Anbu and Jounins, "I believe this next part is private so you are all dismissed." Most of the assemble shinobi left, the only ones that remained were Jiraiya, Hiashi, Sakura and Neji.

When the room was cleared Naruto said with a sigh, "You all might wish to sit down. A lot has happened and it will shock many of you." A couple of people exchanged a puzzled look but soon complied. After a few minutes everyone, including the Savile tribe, were seated in the various chairs in the room. "Let's see where to begin," Naruto contemplated, "Well to start, for those who don't know I am the nephew of the Fourth Hokage." The only ones that seemed to be surprised were Sakura and Neji. Tsunade and Jiraiya already knew, and Hiashi was informed just before the two left. "And the Fourth was the brother of Isalia. That means she is my Aunt." Taking a breath Naruto said, "This is where everything is new. During the fight with Missing-nin a certain revelation occurred. As I told you Shadow Skill was a lost style from the ancient city of Karuda. It had a counter style called Open Skill. Well Open Skill was not lost like Shadow Skill. The survivors of Karuda carried on the style. The survivors became nomads, to be more precise they became the Savile Tribe."

This stunned everyone in the room no one was expecting this. Several moments of silence past before it was Jiraiya that spoke, "That would explain why Arashi had such an affinity for jutsus that did not use hand seals."

"What do you mean by that Jiraiya-sama?" Sakura asked.

"If a family line use a certain way of molding charka long enough the future descendants of that line sometimes develop an affinity for that style of combat," Hiashi answered, "And if that affinity continues enough, it could develop into a Bloodline Limit."

"Correct," Jiraiya nodded, "And if Open Skill is like Shadow Skill, in that it does not require hand seals then a person from a family that uses Open Skill would easily be able to use jutsus that do not require them."

"And one of the many things the Fourth was known for was to use jutsus that did not require hand seals," Tsunade finished.

"I see," Sakura said.

"Well that was certainly enlightening Naruto," Tsunade said. "And a bit of a shocker, I can appreciate your suggestion for us to sit down."

"They're not done yet," Neji spoke. Those from Konoha looked at the young Jounin then. "You said you would explain once we arrived so you could tell us all at once, so start explaining." They turned their attention back to Naruto and Hinata with confusion

and anticipation written on their faces.

Naruto sighed and was about to begin but Hinata beat him too it. "A couple of months ago Naruto-kun and I," she paused taking a deep breath, "Became husband and wife."

For several minutes there was dead silence. The members of the Savile Tribe were waiting patiently to see the reactions from the shinobi and judging by the way Neji took the news, it would not be well. Naruto and Hinata waited nervously for the news to sink in, they could already predict the reaction. Those from Konoha were busy processing the information, except Neji that is. Then finally the silence was shattered by a collective, "WHAT?" then several questions followed all jumbled together. Only words such as "how," "daughter," and "him," could be made out clearly because these were either the loudest or spoken the most. This continued for several seconds until Hiashi stood up, the shock had worn off and now he wanted answers. When he stood the room became silent again. "Now Hinata would you explain what exactly so you mean?" When he spoke it was rather strained even with his years of concealing his emotions it was difficult to restrain his anger.

It was at this point that Isalia stood, "If I may Lord Hyuuga," Isalia spoke, "I believe I can best explain this situation. Considering it was because of our Tribe's traditions for this to occur." Hiashi looked at her with a rather hard look, but nodded for her to continue, "Gau, I mean Naruto, is a part of our Tribe. And has come of age into adult hood. Usually there is a ceremony after they have completed their early training in the ways of our warriors, very similar to your graduating ceremony. As a result of Naruto being a Master at Shadow Skill, a fighting style of our ancestors, we would consider him a part of our Tribe even if he was not related by blood." She pause for a moment then continued, "Now when a person in our tribe is an adult plans of marriage are made." This was actually a stretch of the truth, it was true that after a child passes the trial into adult hood they are encouraged to start thinking about marriage but it is always up to the person. This was just to an exaggeration they came up with to deal with those whom objected.

Hiashi nodded in understanding. Members of his Clan would often be apart of arranged marriages. Then he had to ask, "Why Hinata?"

"Because I love him," Hinata answered.

Hiashi looked at Hinata and the Naruto and got a contemplative look. Isalia noticed the look and interjected, "And incase you were wondering, it cannot be reversed. According the Plains Country law marriage is lifetime contract. And Common Law says that each country must respect laws in terms of contracts of other countries."

In all reality Hiashi was not going to contest or try to reverse the marriage. As he got to know Naruto Hiashi had come to respect him as a fellow shinobi. And after several instances in which they met, mostly while Naruto was waiting for Hinata, he had come to like him. In his opinion Naruto was most worthy of his daughter's hand. "I was not planning to. However the Hyuuga Elders will object. And while you are correct they must respect the law they will take action by either banning her from the Clan or giving her the Curse Seal. Either way they would strip her of her status as heir to the clan."

"Can they actually do that to Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Neji answered, "The Elders cannot override the Head of the Clan in many things but this is one of them."

"That may not be necessary," Tsunade spoke up. Everyone turned to the Hokage and she continued, "The Hyuuga Elders would want Hinata to marry someone inside the clan, or if not inside the Clan then someone from a noble family and a strong shinobi."

"Correct," Hiashi said. "Preferably one in the village or at least an alley."

"Then I don't see a problem," Tsunade said with a smile. "All we have to do is tell them of Naruto's relation to the Fourth and the Savile Tribe."

Jiraiya smirked, "I see what your doing, what Clan in Konoha will deny a relative of the greatest Hokage in our history? And the fact that Naruto has proven to be a powerful shinobi and have blood relationships to a new trade partner that would end any overt disagreement."

"A clever plan," Hiashi nodded, "And I believe it could work. After they learn of Naruto's relation to the Fourth they will want to show him and Hinata off. So we can expect them to insist on a ceremony here."

Tsunade started to smile very broadly, "That means we need to start making plans right away."

Isalia then interrupted, "While I agree this is probably the best coarse of action could we put this off until a later date. We would like to get settled in." She then looked at Naruto who nodded at the unasked question, "And if it is not too much of a request might I and the rest of my group visit my brother's grave?"

"Of coarse," Tsunade said. "I shall have some one show you to the Hokage Graveyard."

"Would you let me Tsunade?" Naruto asked, "I would like to go as well."

"Ok Naruto," Tsunade said, "After you get settled in I will send word to the Guards that you and your family are coming."

"Thank you, Tsunade," Naruto said as he and his family let the room.

After Naruto showed his family where they could stay he when with Hinata and Sakura back to his apartment. Along the way Naruto asked, "Sakura-chan I noticed Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei were not at the meeting. Do you know where they went?"

"After they came back from the mission against the Akatsuki Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei left on a training mission," Sakura explained. "When I asked why, he said because his eyes were no match for Itachi's, and he either had to get the Mangekyou Sharingan or find something else. He said the way to get the Mangekyou Sharingan was not an option so he had to find another way. And Kakashi-sensei, being the only other person with a Sharingan went with him to help train."

"Why is the Mangekyou Sharingan not an option?" Hinata asked.

Sakura face darkened drastically before she answered, "Because to get that level of the Sharingan an Uchiha has to kill their closest friend. And Sasuke-kun would never do that."

Hours later after everyone was cleaned up and settled in Naruto and Hinata went and picked up Isalia, Lita, Dag, and Jade to take them to the grave of the Fourth Hokage. When Naruto asked why the others were not coming one of them said this was for closest family, and that they could pay their respects at the Memorial. Naruto accepted this led his closets relatives to the Hokage Graveyard. When they arrived they were met by Tsunade and Jiraiya at the entrance, "We decided to visit as well," Jiraiya said. "Neither of us has been here in a while."

The group nodded and was about to proceed when Hinata asked, "Tsunade-sama I noticed the Third was not at the meeting."

"He is away at the moment," Tsunade said. "There was an uprising in Suna while you were gone. And they requested representatives be sent to renegotiate a treaty with the new Kazekage."

When they entered the grounds Tsunade left the group saying that she was going to visit the First's grave and would join them soon after. No one objected and continued to the Fourth's resting place. The Fourth's grave marker was a life-sized statue of himself wearing the full Hokage's robes. In one hand he had what appeared to be a ball, but at closer inspection it was revealed that the ball was carved to look like a sphere of rotating wind. It was Jade that asked, "What is that in his hand?"

Jiraiya looked down at the little girl and answered, "That was a technique he invented himself called the Rasengan. It's a ball of condensed rotating wind."

"That sound similar to Haken," Naruto said. Haken was a technique that both Shadow Skill and Open Skill use. It was one of two techniques that directly linked the styles together.

"I guess performing techniques without hand seals really was in his blood if he invented a technique that was similar to your styles," Jiraiya said with a smile. "Well in any case, shall we," he gestured to the statue and the group proceeded up to it.

Each person had their own way of honoring the Fourth. Jiraiya who was the closest moved up first. He placed a small bottle of sake at the feet of the statue saying it was for old times sake when they went out drinking together. Isalia was next, she said a traditional prayer of the Savile tribe and expressed her wish she could have met him before he died. Next was Lita, Jade, and Dag they bowed and paid their respects by each placing a bouquet of flowers next to the sake bottle. Naruto and Hinata were after them; Naruto introduced his wife to his uncle and promised that he would live up his legacy. Hinata promised that she would protect his legacy with every fiber of her being. Finally Tsunade came, she was last simply because she had just arrived. She made a joke about dieing to avoid the paperwork of the office which earned a chuckle from everyone there, she gave her respects and the group left the grave yard in order to return to their lives and plan for the next few days.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Naruto stood looking at the out over the village from atop the Hokage Monument. He had been here for the last couple of hours just to clear his head. In just a few hours time he would go the Hyuuga compound and be presented to the Hyuuga Elders. The plan was simple really. Tell them that he and Hinata were married. Then after the objection the Elders were sure to come, they would lay out Naruto's rather unique history. Several people would accompany Naruto and Hinata as they addressed the Elders for sheer intimidation purposes. The people coming were indeed intimidating people: Hiashi as the most powerful member of the clan, Tsunade simply as the Hokage, Jiraiya as a part of Naruto's family inside the village; his closeness to the Fourth was what prompted this relationship, and Isalia as Naruto's family outside the village. Isalia would not carry as much weight as the others because she was unknown to the Hyuuga's, however rumors were beginning to be spread about the strength of the village's guests after a couple of Jounin's 'accidentally' saw some of them sparring with Naruto. Of coarse after Naruto's past linage was laid out for the Elders the plan kind of ended. After that they would have to improvise, and that was what worried Naruto, true he was a genius when it came to improvising in a fight but in this situation he would feel better if they could have planned more.

"He used to come up here when he had a lot on his mind," Jiraiya said. "It was almost like he was staking out his own place long before he became Hokage."

"I guess we do have a lot in common," Naruto said, "I would come up here before I became a ninja. It always helped me think."

"From what I heard you never really did that much," Jiraiya smirked.

"Shut up!" Naruto retorted, "Or I'll tell Tsunade you were peeking at the woman's bath."

"Don't even joke about that!" Jiraiya paled, "She wasn't kidding when she said she would make peeping a capital crime, I've looked at the books."

Naruto could not help but laugh at the Toad Summoner's panicked voice, "So why are you here Ero-Sannin?"

"Actually I came to give you this," Jiraiya said giving Naruto a small scroll. "It's the technique that was in Arashi's statue's hand."

"The Rasengan?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya nodded. Naruto looked at the scroll and noticed it had a blood seal on it, meaning only he could open it. After slicing his thump with his knife and running the blood over the seal he opened the scroll. After scanning it for a minute he looked at Jiraiya and asked, "He actually used balloons?"

"You should have seen the look on Jiraiya's face when he saw Arashi first should him how he came up with the Rasengan," Tsuande's said joining then. "It was rather funny, that is until he remembered what the end result could do."

"Well anyway thanks Ero-Sannin," Naruto said. Jiraiya, though annoyed at the nickname that was spreading as they spoke, just waived off the thanks.

"I've come to get you," Tsunade said, "The meeting will start soon." Naruto nodded then turned his gaze back to the village, subconsciously toward the Hyuuga section.

A few hours latter the meeting between arguably the strongest shinobi in Konoha started. At one end, on a raised platform for intimidation purposes, was the Hyuuga Elders seated with the senior Elder slightly above and behind the others that were lined up shoulder to shoulder. On the other side were, the real intimdators, were placed. When Hiashi called the meeting the Elders were at first confused, but then they remembered the news of the return of Hinata with the guests they assumed it could deal with the trade treaty. Though they were not consulted often in such matters it was not unheard of. This idea was thrown out the window when Naruto showed up with Hinata, it was decided to have Naruto's family show up after he did to through the Elders off balance. They new about the closes Hinata had with Naruto and could only assume it had increased over their time away. What did actually through them off were the appearances of the Fifth, her teammate Jiraiya, and the leader of the Savile Tribe to show up a few seconds after, now they did not know what to think. "Well Hiashi-sama," the senior Elder spoke, "Why have you called a meeting with us?"

"I have come to inform you that my eldest daughter has chosen Uzumaki-sama as her husband," Hiashi answered.

The four Elders exchanged glances, they were afraid of this when Naruto showed up. But if what they speculated was trued then why were the others here. "Then why have you brought outsiders in on a discussion that only involves the Hyuuga's?"

"Because we are his family," Tsunade answered with a confident smile.

"It has not family," the Hyuuga Elder to the right said. A sharp glance from the four eldest people addressing the Elders made him flinch.

"Actually," Tsunade said, "Ever since Naruto was an infant he was been under the guardian-ship of the Hokage Position. So when I became Hokage I became his legal relative."

Surprise showed on the Elders' faces once again but they quickly regained their composure. "Be that as it may, the Hyuuga Heir cannot just marry any shinobi, no matter whom his 'legal' relative is," the one on the left said smugly. "We will not accept 'him' as her future husband."

"I believe you misinterpreted my initial statement," Hiashi said.

"What do you mean?" the same Elder asked.

"I have already married him," Hinata answered with pride.

"Under our laws," Isalia added. "And our laws say that it cannot be broken in anyway."

"Then we are faced with no choice but to banish Hinata from the Hyuuga Clan," the middle Elder said.

"And by our Clan Law," the senior Elder said, "She will have the Curse Seal placed on her."

"No she won't," Naruto said with a slight flicker of his chakra. Again the Hyuuga Elders flinched, they had heard of Naruto's power.

"And it would not be wise to make such a hasty decision," Jiraiya finally spoke, "After all the village would not look to kindly on you banishing a relative of the Fourth Hokage."

This time the Elders did not try to hide their surprise, "What do you mean?"

"It has been confirmed through blood tests that Naruto is the Nephew of the Fourth," Tsunade answered, "I confirmed it myself."

"And your Fourth was also my brother," Isalia said, "We lost him when he was very you when we sent our first envoy here many years ago."

"The news is going to be spread among the populace soon," Jiraiya continued, "The latest information about Naruto plus his rising popularity from the war, well you get the idea."

The group addressing the Elders became silent as they discussed privately among themselves. After several minutes of silence the senior Elder addressed them, "We have discussed the prospect of Uzumaki Naruto marring Hinata-sama will be a benefit to the Clan. We accept her marriage to him. However we must insist a ceremony here in the village."

"I have no objection to that," Naruto said.

"We can discuss the details later," Tsunade said. "We all have other duties to perform." She then stood, soon followed everyone in the room, and left with Naruto and the others soon after.

Over the next several days plans were made for the ceremony. The Elders wanted a grand display to show off their new attachment to the Fourth's legacy, especially after it was revealed Naruto's relation to him. Naruto and Hinata really did not mind actually, after all they already had their own ceremony, this was merely for show. Although they were glad that their friends could come to this one unlike the real one. Other than minor details and arguments between what kind of decorations would be in place the only real problem came from at what date should the ceremony take place. One thing that must be accommodated for was the return of the Third, his mission to Suna was taking more time than needed and it would not be appropriate for a Hokage to miss such an important event. Apparently Garra of the Desert was smart and willing to negotiate but was also determined not to let his village sink into despair like it had with last Kazekage, this meant drawn out talks and a long time away from Konoha. It was estimated that even at longest the negotiations should not take more than a couple of weeks. And once that was confirmed many people started suggesting dates. Many different suggestions came up, from New Years to the anniversary of the release of the first Icha Icha Paradise book, Jiraiya was reported to need a visit to the hospital soon after that suggestion. Unfortunately no date seemed to be appropriate, that was until Jade suggested, by chance, just pointed to a calendar date which October 10. At first many objected, after all that was the day many mourned lost loved ones. But then people started to discuss the issue, and soon every one agreed that it would be a great way to honor the Fourth and those that died by celebrating the promise of life they died to protect. And so it was finally agreed to have the marriage on October 10 later that year.

Finally after everything was settled everyone went back into their normal routines of missions and training. One day while training Naruto was in his private area sparring with Dag when he called for a halt because he felt a familiar yet different chakra signature coming to them. When the signature was close enough Naruto turned to the source, there coming into the clearing was Sasuke returning from his training mission with Kakashi. When Sasuke was a meter away he said, "So I hear you're marrying Hinata."

"I'll leave you two alone, Gau," Dag said.

Naruto nodded as he walked off, when he was gone Sasuke asked, "Gau?"

"Part of the story," Naruto explained. For next half hour Naruto gave Sasuke the condensed version of the events that had been happening in his life since they last parted ways. When he was done Sasuke had slight smirk on his face signaling his amusement. "So now that you know about me, what about you? Sakura-chan told me about your training mission."

"It was productive," Sasuke said.

"How exactly was it productive?" Naruto asked.

"Like this," Sasuke answered. He activated his Sharingan, but instead of three black marks surrounding the center of his red eye there were four.

"A fourth mark?" Naruto asked surprised, "I thought the max was three marks."

"Obviously not," Sasuke replied.

"What does it do?" Naruto questioned.

"Through trial an error Kakashi-sensei and I have determined that the fourth mark negates the affect of another Sharingan," Sasuke said.

"Will it work on the Mangekyou?" Naruto asked calmly.

"Don't know yet," Sasuke said. "But even if it doesn't I have a back up." He then focused harder and the four marks shifted and appeared as a four-point star. "I found a higher level." Sasuke fully smiled at Naruto's even more shocked look and went on to answer the silent question, "This form, I don't have a name yet, allows me to use something else."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Well according to records from my clan," Sasuke said, "The Mangekyou Sharingan allows a person to use powerful Genjutsu. The one Itachi used on you," Naruto nodded, "But it also allows a person to use black fire. It is much stronger than normal Fire Jutsus." He then brought his hand up and suddenly a white flame came out of his palm, "This form of the Sharingan allows me to use white flames. And they apparently can have the same intensity as black flames. So I have a counter for my brother."

"Pretty good Counter Ninja," Naruto said smirking. Sasuke then deactivate his new abilities and Naruto turned serious, "Even with this don't be to proud to seek help, your brother has very power allies, and Missing-nins are not know to fight fair."

"Noted," Sasuke said.

"Good then let me go introduce you to my family," Naruto insisted.

Deep in a cave nine figures stood around a massive show of seals. The design was a complex design that was a mixture of elemental, binding and summoning seals on the floor. On the walls there was strange runic language that was long forgotten by the world. "After months of preparation it is finally complete," one said.

"We will be to finally be able to complete our goals," another said.

"We will need to gather the others first," a third informed, "To use these seals we will need much to bring it here. We can use the others for the power once we extract enough chakra from them."

"Then shall we begin collecting them?" the fourth person asked.

"Yes," the first answered, "We shall start with the one in Canyon Country first. It is the most isolated and the easiest to retrieve."

"What about the one in Wind Country?" a fifth said, "It is the weakest right now."

"Maybe," the first said, "But it is currently being very public we will need to wait for that one."

"Once we have bring the last one others here," the sixth spoke, "Will be able to contain it? It is the strongest and will be quite upset when we summon it."

"That is true," the first agreed, "But the runes are specially designed to trap the beast."

"What should we do about the traitor?" the eighth asked.

"I say leave him be," the nine said, "He is too weak to stop us and does not even care about our plans. His foolishness will get him killed anyway."

"If he does interfere in any way kill him," the first said, "But if not let him be, we must concentrate we must concentrate on retrieving the beasts including the Nine Tails."

Naruto bolted upright at the mention of 'Nine Tails'. When he looked around he noticed he was his home in Konoha. Motion to his side signaled Hinata sleeping by his side, confirming his location. Deciding to get up to clear his head Naruto made his way to the kitchen. After getting something eat Naruto sighed, "I guess it was just a dream."

"It was not a dream, Shadow Claw," a soft voice said from behind him.

Caught completely off guard by the voice and that someone could sneak up on him. Naruto was shocked at what he saw. There standing in the shadowed room was a man about twenty or so centimeters taller than him come into the moon light through the window. When Naruto saw the person he gasped out, "Darkness!"


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Shadow Skill I only use them for entertainment purposes.

There was silence in the only broken when a soft voice to his side asked, "Naruto-kun is something the matter?" Naruto turned to Hinata who had just entered the kitchen. When she entered she noticed a strange figure dressed in a black cloak and immediately went into a defensive stance and activated her Bloodline Limit. To her surprise she could not see the chakra pathways of the individual, but could still detect it was not an illusion, "Who or what is this?" she thought. Vocally she asked, "Naruto-kun?"

"It's alright Hinata-chan," Naruto addressed his wife, "This is Darkness, the one who taught me Shadow Skill." Hinata relaxed her stance and turned off her Byakugan. Naruto then turned back to his new guest and asked, "Was that really true? Are they going to bring it back?" Darkness gave a silent nod. "Hinata-chan would you go get Tsunade Ero-Sannin and Aunt Isalia. I have some rather disturbing information for them."

Noting the seriousness in his voice Hinata made no objection, "I'll get them here right away." With that she left the pair but not before giving Naruto one last glance.

Once Hinata left Naruto said, "You'll stay at least until they can here the details?"

"Yes," Darkness answered.

"Can you stop them?" Naruto asked, "I mean can you send Kyuubi back if they succeed in bringing back to this world?"

"No," Darkness said, "Everyone has a limit to their power. They will use the power of the other Tailed Beasts to bring it back."

At that moment four new people entered the room. Three of them had a look of surprise and aw when they entered. Hinata had told them that Naruto wanted to see them, and it some how involved the one that taught Naruto Shadow Skill. Needless to say all three immediately dropped what they were doing, playing poker with each other, and came here. The first one to speak was Isalia, "Are you really the one called Darkness mentioned in our legends?"

"Yes he is," Naruto answered, "But now is not really the time for that. I called you here because Darkness has just shown me some rather disturbing images."

"And what images are those?" Tsunade asked.

"The Akatsuki are going to move to get the Tailed Beasts," Naruto informed, "And that includes the Kyuubi."

There was a simultaneous gasp from the four at the mention of the Kyuubi. It was Jiraiya that asked, "How can they do that? You said the Darkness here sent it to the demon world."

"The ones you know as Akatsuki have discovered the ancient rituals that brought the Tailed Beasts here to begin with," Darkness answered.

"And what are these rituals?" Tsunade asked out of curiosity.

"The foundation of your summoning techniques," came Darkness' cryptic answer.

"How do you know this?" Isalia asked.

"I detected the use of the runes that involved the ritual," Darkness answered, "I then observed what was taking place. I then gave my memories of the event to Shadow Claw."

"Why?" Hinata asked worried about her husband.

"Shadow Claw will be necessary," Darkness replied.

"What does that mean?" Tsunade asked, she really did not like the cryptic answers.

"It means that I'll be needed," Naruto responded, "Darkness won't give you straight answers to his motives unless he is willing to do so in the first place. And then he is rather up-front about it. How long ago were the images?"

"I observed them three days ago," Darkness said.

Catching onto what Naruto was doing, Jiraiya asked another question especially about images, "Have they begun to move yet, and what are the order of their targets?"

"Yes," Darkness said.

Naruto continued, "They are going to Canyon County first. Apparently that one will be the first Tailed Beast they get. Something about it being the most isolated."

"Canyon Country has some pretty rough terrain and many remote areas," Jiraiya mentioned.

"What about the others?" Tsunade asked.

"They are holding off on taking the one in Wind Country," Naruto said, "They said something about it being to public at the time."

"The others will be taken on the order of connivance," Darkness said, "And the Nine Tails will be taken last. They will need the power of the others to hold it."

"Why are they after the Tailed Beasts anyway?" Isalia asked, "From every story that has been told no one has ever been able to control them in their true forms."

"I do not know," Darkness admitted. "Their motives are their own."

"Where are the other Tailed Beasts?" Hinata asked. "Are they in their true forms or are they in vessels like Naruto-kun once was?"

"They are all over the continent," Jiraiya answered, "Some are loose, a couple are in vessels, and the others are sealed away in objects like Shukaku once was in Suna."

"Speaking of Suna," Tsunade said, "We must send word to the Third in Suna. And also warn Suna about the Akatsuki." The others nodded in agreement, "And then we need to start tracking down the other Tailed Beasts." There was a noise behind them and the five humans turned to it. When they turned back Darkness was no where to be found, "Where did he go?"

"Where ever he came from," Naruto sighed, "He used to do that when I was learning Shadow Skill. He comes delivers the information he's willing to share then leaves the moment your back is turned."

"Anyway we must send out a team to Suna right away," Tsunade stated, "Then we should send a team to Canyon Country."

"I would send more than just one team," Naruto said, "Remember these guys are S-Class Missing-Nins and a Tailed Beast as well."

"Which one is in Canyon Country?" Hinata asked.

"Last I heard from my sources it is the Four Tailed Wolf," Jiraiya said. "I'm going to contact my other sources and try to find the locations of the other Beasts." With that he disappeared in puff of smoke.

"I must return to my office and prepare the teams and inform the Jounins and the Council," Tsunade said. "The meeting will take place in an hour. Both of you are to be there." Tsunade's order was directed at Hinata and Naruto, who nodded in response.

"And I must send a message to our tribe," Isalia said leaving out the door. "Something like this will also affect us as well."

Tsunade was about to follow Isalia out when she paused and asked, "Naruto, why did you send for just us? The entire Council should have been told about this."

"The truth is," Naruto said, "I didn't really trust the Council with this kind of information. I was worried about their reaction at the prospect of the return of the Kyuubi." That seemed to satisfy Tsunade as she left the couple alone.

Naruto's statement about not trusting the Council made her think about her father as he was part of the Council, "Naruto-kun about what you said about the Council?"

Slowly moving towards Hinata Naruto said, "I trust your father Hinata-chan, but not with everything I'm afraid." Hinata could not say anything in response because she was well aware that Naruto trusted very few people will all aspects of his life, Kyuubi was one and always will be one of those aspects that is hard for Naruto to trust people with.

An hour later many Jounins and the Council were in the Hokage's office confused as to why they were summoned in the middle of the night. Once the last person, Kakashi, arrived the meeting began. "As of an hour ago one of Jiraiya's contacts informed us that the organization Akatsuki has begun to move again." There were several murmurs among the crowd, "They are targeting the Tailed Beasts," subconsciously several people glanced in Naruto's direction, "Because of that I am taking the following actions. I am sending a team to Suna to inform the Third and warn Suna of the development." She paused and looked at Kakashi, "Kakashi, you Naruto and Neji, along with Anbu Team 5, will be assigned this mission. You are to gather your members and leave at once."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Kakashi saluted, "Neji Naruto let's go." Neji gave a silent nod and left. Naruto glanced at Hinata one last time and soon followed

"Next I am sending a Anbu teams 8 and 11 to Canyon Country," Tsunade continued, "The contact said that there is a Tailed Beast there and that is Akatsuki's first target. I am also assigning a Hunter-nin as a tracker to the mission."

"Yes Hokage-sama," The two Anbu Captains, one of which was Sasuke, replied in unison. The two left the office to gather what was needed.

"As for further actions," Tsunade said, "Jiraiya is currently contacting his other sources to find locations on the other Tailed Beasts, when they report back I will be sending out more teams to investigated them." She then turned to the Council, "As for the village itself I am classifying this as a current A-Class threat to the village. And to inform you that I want you to keep this only among the shinobi and only give the details to Chunin level. We do not want a panic because some Gennin doesn't yet know to keep their mouth shut. The civilians will react badly if they know about the Tailed Beasts being involved."

Hiashi stood and spoke for the Council, "We shall abide by your decision Hokage-sama. I believe I can speak with everyone here when I say this news worries me. And if it worries us then we can imagine what it would do to the civilians." He glanced at his daughter in thought of what people would think of her for marring Naruto if they learned of the current situation. Even though the part of him that was a shinobi knew she could handle it the part of him that was a father was still worried about his daughter.

"I thank you for your cooperation," Tsunade said, she then gave one last order, "As of right now all Jounin and Anbu are on standby for immediate departure once further information comes in. Those with Gennin teams will be called only as a last resort, but do not be unprepared. Dismissed." The room saluted and everyone left.

Once outside the Hokage's office Kakashi addressed the two younger Jounins, "Gather your equipment for an extend time away. I'll gather the members of Anbu Team 5."

"Actually," Neji interrupted, "I should get at least one member of the Anbu Team."

"Oh and why is that?" Kakashi asked.

"One of the members is Lee," Neji said. That was all Kakashi needed to hear, only a person who had been around a person like Rock Lee and Gai could have the patients for their antics. And while Kakashi could deal with Gai he often had difficulty dealing with his young admirer.

"Very well," Kakashi said, "We will meet at the West Gate in one hour."

An hour later Naruto was the last to show up. He was only a few minutes late but was still asked why he was late. He responded, "Hinata came after the meeting ended."

The silent message was not lost on any of the people there. "Are you sure you will have the energy to keep up Naruto?" came the casual/implying remark from Kakashi. Said remark earned the Jounin a glare from both Naruto and Neji. "Well now that everyone is here let's head out."

Three days later the seven Konoha shinobi arrived outside the gates of Suna. There they were greeted by several Suna Jounins. A single Jounin came forward and addressed them, "I am Ryshu," the Jounin said, "We have been informed of the threat from the message we received prior to your arrival. The message also said that you would go into greater detail once you arrived."

"That is correct," Kakashi said, "We will inform you of everything we have once we meet with our Third Hokage and your Kazekage." Along the way Naruto had told Kakashi that he was the contact that Tsunade talked about. He informed in of the meeting in private and asked not to reveal that he was the source. Kakashi agreed to take the lead when ever a question was asked about the detail.

"Very well then," Ryshu said, "Follow us and we will take you to see them. Be warned though, several of our citizens are suspicious of outsiders. Do not do anything that will provoke them."

The group was led to the Kazekage's office and upon entering the room they saw the Third with his usually Anbu Guard as well as the Kazekage with his personal Guards. Neji and Kakashi immediately recognized the three Suna Guards. Two were the ones that slipped them the note several months ago and the third was the recipient of the note. The two older siblings gave them a scanned the Konoha shinobi as they approached while the youngest just stared on passively. That is until Naruto, who was at the back of the group came into view. Naruto was still wearing his Hunter-nin mask so his face was hidden, but if it was not, his eyes would have met those youngest sibling. The moment only passed for second but it did not go unnoticed by several people in the room.

Once everyone was seated on a cushion the Third addressed Kakashi, "The message from Konoha said there was a threat to us care to explain in further detail."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Kakashi repleied. He then went on to inform those present everything that he had been told.

After several minutes of Kakashi talking the Kazekage spoke, "I thank you for this information and warning. It is just first step in our new cooperation. Now if you will excuse us we must discuss this issue."

"Of course Kazekage-sama," the Third rose and bowed to his Suna counterpart who returned the bow.

As the Konoha shinobi left there was another silent exchange between Naruto and the youngest guard. Once the room was cleared with only the Kazekage and his guards remained, the only female addressed her little brother, "Is something wrong Garra?"

"The Hunter-nin is strong," Garra replied, "Stronger than the others."

"Do you know who he is Baki-sensei?" Kankaru asked.

"I believe that is the one know as Shadow Claw," the Kazekage answered.

"Are you serious?" Temari asked, "He doesn't seem much older than Garra."

"He's different," Garra said, "Though I am not sure why, I just know he is."

Out side the office, Kakashi asked Naruto, "Is something bothering you?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, "The one with the red hair he was odd."

"He is powerful," Kakashi admitted, "Neji and I ran into him before."

"Its more than that," Naruto responded, "there is something about him that make his different from other people. I'm just not sure what."


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

In a darkened hallway a man with shoulder length hair slowly walks, on each side of him there are dozens of prison cells with several people in each one. The man is not phased by the sight one bit, for he has seen it many times as he has walked down this hall many times before. The man reaches the end of the hall and opens the door to a darkened room. Inside the room another man with hair down to his mid back sits on an ornate chair. The man with shoulder length hair approaches the other and drops to one knee. "Orochimaru-sama our spies say that Sasuke-kun has left the village. His Anbu Team along with another one have been sent to Canyon Country to investigate your former associates."

"I grow tired of waiting for my Sharingan, Kabuto," Orochimaru said, "The longer I am forced to wait the more powerful he becomes. There may be too much risk to attack him soon."

"Yes Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said.

"Has there been any information about the new abilities of his Sharingan?" Orochimaru asked. Ever since he had been informed about Sasuke's new level to the Sharingan he had become even more interested. This level was reportedly different from the Mangekeyou Sharingan that Itachi possessed, and if had different abilities or was perhaps stronger he wanted to know.

"I am afraid not Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto reluctantly said, "Our spies have not been able to get close enough to him to witness any of the abilities."

Orochimaru slowly sat back in his chair to think. Any shinobi worth any skill knows not to enter combat with out as much information about the target as possible. With knowing that Sasuke's new level of Sharingan different from Itachi's it was unknown just how strong it was. In fact Orochimaru was beginning to wonder which would be the strongest. That was when he had flash of inspiration, "Kabuto, what do our spies say about the movements of Akatsuki?"

Kabuto was taken back by that question. Of all the questions he thought the Snake Sannin would ask, Kabuto never thought he would ask that one, "The Akatsuki? Are you thinking of…"

"Just tell me!" Orochimaru said sternly.

Kabuto flinched for a moment, "Our spies access to the movements of Akatsuki are limited at best, but they say they are moving forward with their plans. And are currently around Canyon Country."

"And do they know if Itachi is in the region?" Orochimaru asked.

"Apparently not," Kabuto said, "He has not been spotted by our spies in the area."

"Then we must make sure we keep an eye out for him then," Orochimaru smiled.

"May I ask why Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto said letting his curiosity show.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru laughed, "If we let the information slip on the location of Itachi, Sasuke-kun will follow him and try to kill him. And even if one brother kills the other, then that one will be exhausted…" Orochimaru stopped with a smirk on his face.

"Allowing us to capture the survivor," Kabuto finished. "But what if both are killed?"

"Once I know where they are going I will go myself and make sure that does not happen," Orochimaru said. "Now what about my old sensei?"

"The Third Hokage was last reported to be still in Suna," Kabuto answered. "Our spies say that his guards have increased recently. And that his guards include some of the strongest Jounins from Konoha."

"Are the new Sound Four ready?" Orochimaru asked.

"They are still adjusting to the next level of Curse Seals," Kabuto said.

"Then I will wait," Orochimaru said.

In a small hotel room a teenage Jounin sat looking out at the sky. The village he was currently in was very different from his home village. There were no trees and everything was covered in sand. The buildings were designed for desert and thus looked all rather uniform in sight. In fact the first night he got lost on his way to the hotel simply because all the buildings he passed were looked just alike. Ever since he arrived the young Jounin was having trouble sleeping. Not because of nightmares or restlessness, but because a person was on his mind. Another young Jounin about his age that he saw when his team met with the Kazekage, he sensed a powerful presence from him and something somewhat familiar. He just could not place were from. "Naruto," a voice called to the young Jounin. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

Naruto turned to voice and saw the Third Hokage standing in his open door, "A little Old Man," Naruto replied, "There is something about that Jounin Garra that has me thinking."

"Yes I understand," the Third said, "He has rather peculiar chakra signature. And he appears to be holding the majority of it back."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. Looking out the window once more Naruto noticed it was a new moon and with no light from it the stars looked even brighter. "I think I'm going to go for a walk to clear my head."

"Very well," the Third said, "Just stay close to the hotel. We were given permission to wander the village but I doubt our host would like a Konoha Shinobi out at night." Naruto nodded and walked past the former head Shinobi of Konoha.

Naruto did not really want to go very far. In fact all he wanted was a better view of the stars. So as soon as he exited the hotel he made his way to the roof. Once there he sat on the edge and lost himself in gazing at the heavens. Naruto was brought out of his gazing when he sensed a strong chakra signature approaching. He felt no aggression in the signature so he just waited patiently for it to come. When it was less than three meters a monotone voice spoke, "You are different from the others."

"So are you," Naruto said. He turned to his visitor, "I am Uzumaki Naruto."

"Garra of the Desert," Garra replied.

Garra moved closer for a moment and Naruto stood up. They were now less than a meter apart each staring into the others eyes down to each other's soul. What they saw was a mirror image of past pain. Finally Naruto broke the stare and looked up, "I prefer when the moon is full."

"I prefer when there is no moon," Garra said, "I can sleep better."

"When did it end?" Naruto asked.

"Not long ago," Garra answered, "You?"

"A couple of years ago," Naruto answered, "But I was forced to leave. When I was gone I helped to know there was people waiting back home.

Garra nodded thinking about when he had to leave his home. He was becoming more and more unstable and people feared to be within a kilometer of him. His father, the Kazekage at the time, was planning his latest and most dangerous assignation attempt yet…

The Kazekage was addressing his children's Jounin sensei Baki about the development of their skills. "How are they progressing?"

"Very well Kazekage-sama," Baki replied, "Kankuro is now able to effectively use two of his puppets in combat and is quickly learning to use his third as well. Temari is getting used to her new fan and is continueing to learn use it as a long and close range weapon."

"And what of Garra?" the Kazekage asked.

"He is becoming more erratic I am afraid," Baki said. "The A Rank and B Rank missions do not appear to be appeasing him."

"Leave, I have work to do," the Kazekage ordered. Baki bowed and left him alone. Once Baki was gone the Kazekage spoke again, "He is becoming too much a liability, he is too dangerous to keep as a weapon and must be dealt with."

"Yes but how will we get past his ultimate defense?" a Sand Jounin said coming out the shadows. "Many have tried but nothing can get passed it."

"That is because up until now I have merely been testing its strength," the Kazekage said. "Even my weak brother in law was just a test." He went to his shelf and took out the Suna Forbidden Seals Scroll, "In here is a way to make the Demon sleep for a few minutes. That will be enough time for you and the others to kill him." The Jounin smirked and took the scroll and left the Kazekage's office. Little did they know that another was listening in.

In their private training area the Kazekage's children were practicing their jutsus, well Temari and Kankuro were and Garra was passively watching them both. His gaze always made his siblings nervous and today was no different. Just as Kankuro was about to begin another round of trying to control all of his puppets six Jounins surrounded the three. "What's going on?" Kankuro asked.

"None of your concern!" the lead Jounin said. He and the others began a long series of hand seals before slamming their hands into the ground saying, "Youma Forced Sleep no Jutsu!"

For a moment it seemed that nothing happened. But everyone knew something was not right, it was then they noticed Garra's gourd began to dissolve. Everyone had a surprise look on their face, but none more so then Garra. It came as an even greater shock when one of the Jounins threw a single kunai at him and the sand did not block it and struck him. "Look the demon is suppressed!" one of the Jounins said, "Now kill him before it wakes up again."

For the first time in Garra's life he was afraid. He had been hurt because his sand did not protect him. He was so afraid that he was not aware of anything until he felt blood slashed on his face. When he came around he saw Temari standing over him with a sword through her shoulder and a face of agony. Once again he was shocked but could only ask, "Why?"

Tamari gave him a pained smile saying, "Because…brothers and sisters…are supposed to look out for one another. Even …from their…fathers."

It was this act and these words that changed Garra's life. By the time Baki had arrived the jutsu had worn off and Garra made quick work of the Jounins. When he arrived he apologized for not coming sooner and promised to take care of Temari after Garra said he needed to go away for a while, leaving his team in the middle of the training area…

Naruto ended Garra's thoughts when he said, "I need to get back to my team. I was interesting meeting you Garra." Garra gave a nod in reply as Naruto left him alone.

When Naruto returned to the hotel he noticed the Hokage was still up. When he came in the Third asked, "Did you speak with Garra?"

"Yes," Naruto answered, "And I think I know why he feels stronger than the others."

"Oh and what is that?" the Third asked.

"I believe he may have a vessel for a Tailed Beast," Naruto answered.

"And why do you think that?" Kakashi asked coming in the room.

"His chakra is like what mine used to be," Naruto replied, "Human mixed with demon."

Out in Canyon Country nine people streaked across the landscape. They were all wearing masks; but while eight were wearing various animal masks, one was wearing a mask with nothing but some paint on it. Also traveling with the group was a dog that was leading with the painted masked person. Suddenly the dog came to a stop soon follow by the group of people. "What is it Kiba?" one with a panther mask on asked.

"Akamaru says he smells traces of some very powerful chakra," the one with paint on his mask. "I think were are close."

"Which way is it coming from?" One with a dragon mask asked.

Kiba turned to his dog and the dog barked in response, "He says it is just over the next ridge."

"Okay," the dragon masked shinobi said, "We are not sure what we can expect so keep alert. Sasuke take your team and scout around to the left. We'll go to the right, Kiba you're with us."

The group gave a silent nod and spit up. As Sasuke's team rounded up the left side of the left side of the ridge, what they found totally shocked them. On top of the ridge there were signs of a battle, but this battle was fought on massive scale. It seemed to go on for miles in the damage that was caused. There were deep gashes in solid stone several meters in length, impact craters a dozen meters across, the few plants that were still designable were half burn or still burning. All in all it looked like a natural disaster came through the area, and considering the power of a Tailed Beast that was not as far from the truth as some might think. "This is like a Sannin battle, only much worse," one with a monkey mask commented.

"What was that?" one with a deer mask asked.

"As you know I'm new to the Anbu Squads and was a Chunin before now," the monkey mask said, "During the war I was under Jiraiya-sama's command. When we arrived to help Tsunade-sama, I saw her summon the slug boss and Jiraiya summoned the toad boss. The destruction those two creatures made was just like this. And I'll tell you the kind of power displayed by them was rather frightening."

"More freighting then you think," Sasuke said, "I know the kind of power a boss summon can make, I've done it myself a couple of times." The two that were a part of Sasuke's original team remember when he summoned the dog boss to help with a desperate mission once and nodded in agreement, "Before we left I summoned one him to ask about the Tailed Beasts. He said that only the bosses of the snakes, slugs, and toads could match the power of the Tailed Beasts, and that was only the weakest of them. If we go by the number of tails as an indication of power then we can assume the Four Tailed Wolf is only at the middle range in strength."

"Then what kind of men could bring down such a force," the deer masked Anbu said.

"Men like my brother and his associates," Sasuke said. Silence washed over the squad for a moment before ordered, "Spread out and search for anything that might be useful."

"Yes Sir," the rest responded and jumped away.

After a half an hour of searching Sasuke's Anbu squad rejoined together. And soon after the other squad showed. When everyone was together the one with the dragon mask asked, "Did your team find anything?"

"No Daisuke," Sasuke said, "Only more scarred land."

"Well we found something," Daisuke said.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"We found a Sound-nin's body of all things," he answered.

"What were the Sound doing here?" the monkey masked Anbu wondered.

"Probably the same thing we are," Daisuke replied, "Following Akatsuki. And apparently one either got caught or caught up in the battle."

"We should take the body back with us," Kiba suggested, "Some Missing-nins have been known to join Sound, and we might learn something from the body."

"Agreed," Daisuke said, "Let's go back to the body."

Back in Konoha Hinata was working at the hospital when Sakura came in practically carrying a slumped over Gai on her left shoulder. Hinata immediately went to her friend and the ailing Jounin. "What happened Sakura-san?" Hinata asked

"It appears Gai thinks Kakashi was selected over him for mission to Suna," Sakura said handing over Gai to a nurse. "So he decided to train, unfortunately Gai has been training since they left, non stop."

"I SHALL BEAT MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Gai shouted.

"This is a hospital!" the nurse attending to him said, "Keep your voice down!"

"I found him passed out at the training area," Sakura continued.

Hinata took a glance at the loud Jounin and scanned him with her Byakugan. She then turned to the nurse, "He is just merely exhausted, put him to bed and don't let up for at least another two days."

"I MUST TRAIN IN ORDER TO BEAT…" Gai started but was cut off when Tsunade came in and hit a pressure point to make him fall asleep.

"Take him to the sound proof room," she told the nurse.

"Yes Hokage-sama," the nurse said before dragging the unconscious Gai down the hall.

Tsunade then turned to the young Medic and Jounin, "I'm glad I was able to catch both of you. I need to tell you that the village will be requiring your skills for the next few months. Hinata you are one of the best Medics in the village and Sakura you are one of the best newest Jounins. That means that you will probably be sent out at a moments notice and into heavy fighting."

Sakura was the one that spoke for the two, "We are aware that Hokage-sama. We are not strangers to danger."

"Good," Tsunade said, "In that case you both have a B-Rank mission in the morning. Even with the new orders we must fulfill our obligations to our clients."

"We will report to the administration office in the morning Hokage-sama," Hinata said. "Now I must return to my duties." Hinata bowed and left to finish her rounds.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

In their cavern headquarters the members of Akatsuki joined together. Each one was standing in a circle observing the prison that was specifically designed to hold the Four Tailed Wolf. The prison was surprisingly small, only about meter in diameter. It was a perfect sphere made of special minerals from Stone Country that absorbed chakra, in order to keep the massive chakra of the Tailed Beast evenly distributed inside of it. Below the prison holding it up was a alter with several seals and runes designed to siphon off the chakra when they needed in the future.

Deidira moved close to the sphere, she could almost here the beast inside trying to claw its way out. "This one was bothersome, yeah," She said. "It almost got you Zetsu, yeah."

The Akatsuki member with his body inside of a giant venues flytrap moved forward. One of the jaws from the Venus flytrap was slip in half, though it appeared to be reforming, "One of its claws go to close while I was trying to snare it," Zetsu said. "I took four of us just to weaken it enough for the containment jutsu to take effect. I hope the others will be less troublesome."

"The others should not give as much trouble," a large man said, "There are only two left that are loose, the rest are either in a prison like this one," he pointed to the sphere, "Or in a container like the one in Suna."

"So the question is," Kisame asked, "Which do we go after next?"

"The other two that are loose are the Seven and Eight Tails," the apparent leader said, "And are to powerful to capture just yet, and the One Tail is still to public. We will go after the Three and Six Tails."

At the main entrance to Suna the Konoha shinobi were about to leave when one of them stopped. "What's wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing," Naruto answered, "Could you give me a minute?" the elder Jounin nodded and left Naruto alone. Soon after Kakashi left Garra appeared in from a cloud of sand. "Keep on your guard Garra," Naruto warned. After Naruto informed the Hokage about Garra, the Third decided that it would be in everybody's interest to warn Suna about the threat of Akatsuk, and Garra may become a target in the near future.

"I am not worried," Garra said, "If they are foolish enough to come after Shukaku then they are welcome to try."

"It is safe to assume that they would not even try to capture the Tailed Beasts unless they had ways of subduing them," Naruto warned. "And I can tell you from personal experience that they are very powerful Missing-nins. They did not become S-class for nothing." Garra remained silent after that whether it was because he was thinking about Naruto's warning or not, no one could tell. "In any case watch out." Garra nodded and disappeared in another cloud of sand.

When Naruto rejoined the group Kakashi asked, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I want to get back home."

"Don't worry Naruto," Kakashi said pulling out his book. "I'm sure Hinata will be there to 'greet' you." Everyone chuckled at Kakashi's innuendo, even Neji. And though only three people knew that Naruto and Hinata were married already, Naruto told the Hokage when they arrive in Suna and Neji already knew, everyone knew about the ceremony where the marriage would be made official. "Then again I can understand your 'impatiens'." Once again everyone was laughing, that is until Naruto started to give off a rather large killing intent.

"Kakashi," the Hokage whispered, "I would suggest you not mention anything more about Hinata and Naruto for a while." The masked shinobi nodded in agreement for Kakashi had little misgivings about Naruto's power.

Feeling the need to change the subject Lee came up to Naruto, "Naruto-kun, after we get back would you spar with me. I have been waiting for an opportunity ever since you got back. I have been training extra hard since my loss to you."

"No problem Lee," Naruto responded, much of his killing intent dieing down. "I could use a good spar."

"YOSH!" Lee jumped into the air. "AND IF I CANNOT DEFEAT YOU THIS TIME I WILL DO 2000 ONE HANDED PUSHUPS AND IF I CAN'T DO THAT I'LL…" at that point everyone began to ignore him. Everyone became used to Lee's antics after spending several days with him. They knew to just tune him out until he stopped yelling.

"I would also like a match with you," Neji commented. "I have yet face you and would like a chance."

"No problem Neji," Naruto said, "After all we're pretty much family, right?" Naruto had a smile on his face as he said this. He soon became very serious, "I think we could all use some extra training, we all need to be at our best." Those listening in all nodded in silent agreement. No one was under the delusion that Akatsuki had some the most dangerous shinobi as a part of its ranks, and that only a few in the village could actually meet them on even ground.

"Well then shall we get going," the Third suggested. "We need to get back and hear about news that has come in."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the shinobi said.

"…AND IF NOT I WILL," Lee continued until he noticed he was alone, "Hey wait for me!" then ran off to join up with the group.

Three days later the group arrived at Konoha and the Third went to the Hokage Tower to discuss what they learned in Suna with Tsunade. Kakashi went off to the administration building because he had another mission waiting for him. The Anbu Team when off to check in at Anbu Headquarters but not without Lee saying he would meet Naruto at training grounds 11 later that this evening. Neji bid his farewell as well, saying that he would meet Naruto and Lee at the same time, he wanted to see both of them fight again as the first was one of the best he saw. This left Naruto alone for the time being, "I guess I'll go visit Aunt Isalia for now," Naruto thought. "Maybe I'll play with Jade some."

When Naruto entered the hotel room his Aunt was staying in he noticed that she was in the middle of packing. When she noticed him enter she answered his unspoken question, "After the meeting with Darkness I sent word back to the tribe. And now I must go back to organize any plans we will be making."

"I see," Naruto said. He was kind of saddened at saying good-bye to his aunt, they had become rather close in their time together. "Are all you going back?"

"Just Lita, Dag, Jade and myself," Isalia said. "The others are staying here. With the permission of Tsunade they will help out with the protection of the village." She then stepped closer to her nephew, "But don't worry, we'll be back, after all we to be here are your and Hinata's second wedding."

Naruto smiled saying, "Then I guess I should go say good-bye to my cousin then." He hugged his Aunt and left to say good-bye to the others.

Later that afternoon Naruto made his way to training field 11 for his sparring matches against Neji and Lee. After he said good-bye to his relatives Naruto went and searched for his wife, he then learned she was on a mission with Sakura and would not be back until a couple of days from now. He also learned that Sasuke was do back in the morning from his mission to Canyon Country. There would then be a meeting with the senior Jounins about what was learned from the mission.

When Naruto arrived he saw both of his opponents waiting for him. Lee was doing some handstand push-ups and Neji was leaning against a tree. "Shall we get started then?" Naruto asked.

Lee nodded enthusiastically and went to the center of the training area taking his preferred stance. When he was walking Naruto noticed that Lee was lighter on his feet than he was when they returned that morning. "I see you already took off you weights."

"I will not underestimate you this time Naruto-kun," Lee said.

Naruto then proceeded to remove his own weights. After he was done Naruto took his own stance. Before the two started Neji said, "Lee remember this is just a sparring match, don't use Lotus."

"Lotus?" Naruto asked. "I heard Sakura mention that before, what is it?"

"It's a Kinjutsu Taijutsu," Lee said. "It is the beginning stages of opening the Eight Chakra Gates. It puts tremendous strain on the body."

"Sounds like the Language of Marital Arts and the Kamui Principle," Naruto commented. "Since you are not using Lotus I won't use them." Lee nodded and the two began their match with Naruto performing, "Shrapnel!" The small the bits of chakra shot off Naruto's foot in a direct line to Lee.

Lee was able to jump over the technique with a front flip toward Naruto. When he landed he called, "Konoha Senpuu!" His body then began to rotate much faster then it did Naruto first faced Lee and was able to land a kick to Naruto's chest, sending his back several meters.

Naruto quickly recovered by spinning in mid air and landing on his feet. He used a burst of speed and closed the distance between him and Lee. When he was close enough Naruto sent a strong side kick to Lee. Lee was able to catch the kick but that was what Naruto was hoping for. He then bent his leg drawing himself closer he then took his other leg and wrapped around Lee's neck and twisting his body sideways was able to throw him into a near by tree.

Lee after hitting the tree pushed off the ground with his hands back toward Naruto. Naruto jumped but was caught off guarded when Lee came up from under him, "Kage Buyou," Lee said. "It's normally the beginning of Lotus. But I have since modified it a bit." He then punched Naruto in the back three times followed up by a spin kick on the descent saying, "Kage Rendan!" (Shadow Combo). Naruto landed with a crash while Lee landed perfectly.

After a second Naruto stood up shaking his head a little, "Not back Lee but try this, Saber!" Naruto jumped to a hand stand, spinning on his hands, spitting his legs in the middle of the rotation, bringing his feet down letting chakra off his front foot then his back foot. Lee was able to dodge the first chakra wave but not the next and it hit him directly in the chest. When Lee was knocked off his feet Naruto rushed forward drawing his custom combat knife. Then after Lee landed Naruto brought the knife to Lee's throat.

"Looks like you win again Naruto-kun," Lee said, relenting to his loss.

"You've gotten better Lee," Naruto said. Then helped him up, "That Kage Rendan sure did hurt."

"So did Saber," Lee said.

"I guess it's my turn then," Neji said stepping forward.

"So it is," Naruto agreed taking a solider pill. "I've seen Hinata-chan fight on numerous occasions, but everyone says that you're even better at your family fighting style."

"Hinata-sama's fighting style has been modified to suit her own purposes," Neji said, "My style is the true Gentle Fist." He then took his stance with one palm forward and the other back and then activated his Byakugan. "Show me the true strength of Shadow Skill."

Naruto smiled, "If I were to do that you would be dead Neji."

Neji's response was to return the smile then called out, "Hakke Kuushou!" Neji took his back hand and thrust it forward straight at Naruto. Naruto not seeing anything come off Neji's hand was puzzled when he felt an impact hit him sending him back about four meters.

"He hit me with a vacuum attack," Naruto thought when he landed. "Sword," Naruto sent a wave of chakra at Neji who dodged rather easy. Naruto then called, "Boomerang!" the second technique connected before Neji could react and sent him back about three meters. Neji expected Naruto to continue his assault but Naruto remained stationary, "I've seen Hinata-chan use Kaiten, so don't expect me to get to close."

"Wise decision," Neji said. He stood up and resumed his Gentle Fist stance. Naruto went into a defensive stance waiting for Neji to move. The two stayed this way for several seconds, trying to get a read on what the other was going to do. Neji having the Byakugan had an advantage over him in reading actions, "He's waiting for me to attack then he is going to counter," Neji thought, "I know he is holding back, I know from what Sasuke said about his attack against the Stone-nins. If I could get just a little closer I could get his with Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou." He then began to make small movements forward to try and get Naruto with his deviation.

Naruto noticed the subtle movements and wondered what Neji was trying to do. He had yet to Rokujuu Yonshou so he was only slimly aware of its range. "I know he's planning something," Naruto thought, "He knows I won't be hit by his previous attack again now that I know what to look for, so could be planning?"

Neji smiled, Naruto did not move once only tightened his stance. "Now he's in range," Neji thought. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" Neji said as he charged Naruto.

Naruto went from calm to surprise as Neji moved towards him. When Neji was close enough he started to close Naruto's chakra points. Unfortunately for him Naruto called out, "Tomahawk!" thus stopping Neji by kicking him with both feet knocking him back. This resulted in Neji only closing half of Naruto's chakra holes. "So that's what it feels like to get hit by that," Naruto said. "Damn that hurt!"

"Your technique did not feel any better," Neji said standing up.

"Why don't we call it a draw," Naruto suggested.

"Very well," Neji said, "I hope to see you at full strength one day. Just not on the receiving end."

Naruto smiled as Lee joined them. "Come on guys lets get something to eat, after all that I know I'm hungry."

Unknown to the three teenagers three people were observing the matches at a distance. "Hmm Neji and Lee fight very differently," Jiraiya said. "Lee uses high speed and strength while Neji uses control and accuracy."

"Differences between Gentle Fist and Iron Fist," the Fifth said. "But Naruto was able to adapt to both. And though all three were holding back its very clear to see that Naruto was holding back more. Shadow Skill is truly superior to both styles."

"It was interesting to watch," the Third said. "It makes me wonder if we could give him a good fight."

"Give another few years and he could take you job Tsunade," Jiraiya smirked.

"He can have it," Tsunade said, "I hate paper work."

"Just don't let Naruto hear about that," the Third said, "Other wise he might never take it." The former teacher and students laughed for a minute before recomposing themselves. "What have you found out Jiraiya?"

"My sources have told me the location of three of the Tailed Beasts," Jiraiya said. "The Five Tailed Tiger is in Water Country. It's in some old temple that is highly guarded by several Mist shinobi. The Two Tailed Bear is in Stone Country, it's in a prison, some kind of idle. And the Six Tailed Hawk is in Mountain Country it's in a vessel."

"The Bear will be difficult to track with problems with Stone," Tsunade said.

"Because Stone won't believe anything we tell them all we can do is have my contacts tell me if Akatsuki makes a move for the Two Tailed Bear," Jiraiya said.

"What about the other two?" Tsunade asked. "How will they react to any information from us?"

"Mist stayed neutral during the War," the Third said. "And we know that Hoshigaki Kisame from Mist is one of Akatsuki's members. Combined they should at least be on higher alert. As for Waterfall, I could not tell you. They tend to keep to themselves in most aspects except for the occasional Chunin exam entry."

"So they could just as well believe us as ignore us then," Tsunade concluded. After thinking for a moment she finally said, "We will send a team of Anbu to Mountain Country to look for the Hawk. We will also send with them an official diplomatic scroll as well. Since no one know exactly where Waterfall is except shinobi from that village we can should be able to use the excuse of sending them a warning about Akatsuki to enter Mountain Country."

"That does appear to be the best coarse of action," Jiraiya said. "But what do they do if they are asked to leave Mountain Country."

"We would have to follow their request," the Third said. "The last thing we need now is strained tensions with another village."

"That is why we send our best at stealth to investigate," Tsunade said. "That will lesson the chances of the team being found." The two men nodded in agreement, "We'll tell our plan tomorrow at the meeting with the Jounins."


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

The meeting was called with the senior Jounins when the team that went to Canyon Country arrived. They were there to listen to the report about what the Anbu found and to listen to the orders the Fifth Hokage was to give them. When the last Jounin arrived, Kakashi, Tsunade spoke, "Now that everyone is here you may begin your report Daisuke."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Daisuke said stepping forward, "When we arrived in Canyon Country our Hunter-nin's companion dog smelled traces very strong chakra signatures. When we followed the traces we came upon a battle scene." He pause for a moment then continued, "Battle scene may not look be the most appropriate word, more like a disaster scene. Those of you that were witness to the destruction that Tsunade-sama and Jiriaya-sama were able to inflict during the war came picture the level of destruction we saw. The damage to the area stretched for nearly a kilometer in several directions."

"Excuse me," a Jounin in the back said. "But why are you telling us this?"

"To give you an idea the kind of threat we could face in the near future," Daisuke answered. "And not just from the Tailed Beasts but from Akatsuki. According to the Hunter-nin at least four separate chakra signatures, human signatures were detected with the Four Tailed Wolf. That means that these people are exceptionally strong, it has been recorded that each one can fight on a near Sannin level. And it took at least four of them to capture a Tailed Beast of close to middle strength among others of its kind." There was dead silence after Daisuke's statement as everyone took in what was said. He then continued, "At the sight of the battle we also found the body of one Sound ninja."

"Does that mean Sound is working for Akatsuki?" Genma asked.

"Not likely," Jiraiya answered, "They Akatsuki does not work with any shinobi village."

"Thank you Daisuke," Tsunade said. "Now next we have information of the whereabouts of four of the other Tailed Beasts."

With this Jiraiya stepped forward, "According to my contacts there are Tailed Beasts in Stone, Water, and Mountain Country. And from the reports that accompanied the Third to Suna there is one there as well. We have already made plans in contacting the Shinobi villages in those regions..."

Jiraiya was interrupted by Hayate, "Why…is…that?" he coughed through.

"Because this threat is a threat to everyone not just us," the Third said. "Many villages tried to make the Tailed Beasts their weapons in the past and it ended in disaster every time. Most have been imprisoned in either seals or vessels. And even then the results were somewhat less than stable than our experience with the Kyuubi." Several people glanced at Naruto, even though everyone in the room had been informed that the fox was no longer a part of Naruto. It was still a subconscious reflex from many to look in his direction when Kyuubi was involved.

Jiraiya continued after the Third, "As I was saying we have made plans already and will inform those involved after the meeting."

"What about the one in Suna?" a Jounin asked.

"Suna was informed of the situation when I was there," the Third said.

"That is all for now," Tsunade commanded. "Asuma, Naruto, Daisuke and Gai remain." The Jounins exited the room when it was cleared she addressed them, "Daisuke I am sending you and our best shinobi at stealth to Mountain Country, the scroll will explain everything." She handed the Anbu Captain the mission scroll. "Asuma, you have the coolest head so I'm sending you and a team of Anbu to Stone. We have already sent word by messenger bird to the village. They will meet you at the boarder get in, give the scroll to them, and get out. Don't risk any lives of the team, if you sense any hostility leave." Asuma nodded and took the scroll. "Gai, you've had a recent mission to Water Country and according to the report you had a relatively friendly meeting with some Mist-nins. They have been informed of your arrival and will be your contact, but like with Asuma don't take any chances."

"I WILL ACCOMPLISH MY MISSION!" Gai said overly enthusiastically.

"Um that's good," Tsunade said. "You three are dismissed." The three bowed and left for their mission. "Naruto I had you stay behind because outside the three of us you have the most experience with a Tailed Beast, probably more. That is why we are giving you the assignment of following up on any battles reported involving a Tailed Beast and you along with a team you have selected for this mission will be sent out. You will be responsible for engaging the Akatsuki members or securing the Tailed Beasts"

"Are you sure you want me?" Naruto asked. This was possibly one of the most difficult assignments a person could be given; combating S-class Missing-nins and/or Tailed Beasts, picking an entire team to lead for the mission, securing objects or people that carried the Beasts and other unknown events.

"We're sure," Tsunade affirmed. "You'll need to pick your team wisely, so you'll be given a few days off to make your decision." Naruto could only nod as he exited the office.

The day after the meeting Hinata and Sakura returned from their B-rank mission. To say the least Naruto was glad to have his wife back. He had been a nervous wreck from the time after the meeting and Hinata's attendance always relaxed him so he could think about what he needed. When Naruto told Hinata the assignment she was shocked and rather scared at the same time. After all it is only natural to worry about the one a person cares for most when knowing they are going into a dangerous situation. After the shock and fear faded a little the mind of the shinobi took over and she started to ask questions, "What will the mission include?" Hinata asked.

"It will involved fighting with S-Class Missing-nins that's a definite," Naruto answered.

"So you will need not only people experienced with fighting Missing-nins you will also need people that are rather powerful as well," Hinata said. "What else will be involved?"

"Some of the Tailed Beasts will be in prisons that will involve rather complex seals," Naruto said. "Definitely need a person familiar with them."

"What else?" Hinata asked.

"Injury is evident," Naruto said. "So that means at least one medic. Also I will need to secure some of the prisons and vessels as well, meaning people good at infiltration. Also someone to coordinate all this, so a strategist would be of some help." He then turned to Hinata and smiled, "Thanks Hinata-chan, I really appreciate your help, you've given me some ideas on who to select."

"You're welcome Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "Do you know who you will choose?"

"Not exactly," Naruto admitted. "But like I said I have some ideas. I still need to think about that. Any way enough about me how was your mission?"

"It was a B-Rank Mission only because the route would take us through an area that was suspected to have a few Missing-nins though there was no direct threat. It was rather simple but interesting mission actually," Hinata said. "Sakura and I escorted an old friend of yours to an island called Panson."

"Oh?" Naruto questioned, "Who was that?"

"The bridge builder Tanzuna," Hinata smiled at Naruto's surprised face, "He was overjoyed to hear that you were alive. Apparently he always felt guilty about lying about the mission level that you disappeared on. He also said to you that Inari and Tsunami are doing well and so in Wave Country."

"I'm glad their doing well," Naruto said. "I just wished I could have seen him."

"You'll get your chance," Hinata said. "Sakura told him about our ceremony and he said that he and his family would sure to be there." Naruto smiled at the news and they continued to talk about Hinata's mission well into the night.

Two days later Naruto finally finished deciding whom he would chose for his team. He had thought carefully about each person's strengths and weaknesses. Now all he had to do was give tell the Hokage and then she would summon them and they could get started.

"Now Naruto," Tsunade said, "Whom have you chosen?"

"I've chosen the people I think are best for the job," Naruto said. "If you disagree I'll listen but first let me tell you the names and the reasons for my choices." Receiving a nod from the Tsunade Naruto began, "The first thing I am going to need is expert trackers, that's why I selected Kiba and Kakashi. Both are among the best tracker in the village. Next we will need people that are good with research…"

"Research?" Tsuande asked. She had honestly not thought about that.

"Yes," Naruto answered, "We may need someone that can translate some of the ancient runes from before the Shinobi Countries were formed and people good at research will be key in this. Also because I know my family is can read some of the runes I am requesting they be included."

"I understand," Tsunade said, "Whom do you have in mind for the research?"

"I met a couple of people in the archives and the decoding sections in the administration building," Naruto answered, "Aki and Sho are their names, they'll will mostly remain here in the village." He took a breath then continued, "Next it is oblivious we will have to secure some of the prisons, that mean infiltration I plan to use Neji and Ino for this. Ino's better than her father when it comes to possessing someone and it is nearly impossible to sneak up on Neji. I'll also need someone to handle the coordination so I'm also requesting Shikamaru. Finally I'll need at least one combat medic so I'm requesting Shizune and Hinata, both are the best medics next to you and have been involved in direct fighting."

"What about combating Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked. So far she had been pleased with Naruto's decisions and could not argue with them.

"I'm getting to that," Naruto answered, "But first I also need someone familiar with complex seals so that means Ero-Sannin. And as for fighting Akatsuki directly, every person that is going into the field are all, powerful shinobi. But I need a few others."

"And they are?" Tsunade asked.

"Hiashi, Kurenai, Sakura, Gai, Lee and Sasuke," Naruto said.

"Those combined with the others are some pretty have hitters," Tsunade said. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes I choose the last four because not only bring strength but also versatility," Naruto answered.

"But are you sure about Sasuke?" Tsunade asked, "His personal feeling for his brother could put the team at risk."

"Yes," Naruto answered, "He has a new level of Sharingan and is the best person to combat Itachi. Fight fire with fire and all. Same with the others we know only a few members of Akatsuki and their strengths. Hiashi with the Kaiten would be good against that woman that uses explosives, and Gai and Lee are experts at close range fighting perfect to go against a swordsman. And Kurenai and Sakura balances the others out with their Genjutsu, Kurenia's ability to use them and Sakura's ability to detect them."

"Sixteen people, more if we include you and the members of your family you want to use," Tsunade said, "That's a lot and may take them from normal duties for some time. Not to mention that many of those are among our best shinobi."

"I know," Naruto said, "But we need our best to fight the Akatsuki or the Tailed Beasts."

"Alright brat I'll summon the others and we'll have them assigned to your team," Tsunade said. "Though I would recommend we tell Jiriaya first, he'll won't like but he will do it." She then turned her attention to the door, "Genma!" she shouted, the door opened and the Jounin with the ever-present senbon needle in his mouth entered. "Find Jiriaya and have him come here immediately."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Genma said.

About a half an hour latter Jiraiya entered with an annoyed face, "What do you want Tsunade? I was in the middle of my research." He received two hits from Tsunade and Naruto for that statement.

After he recovered Tsunade explained, "You're being put on Naruto's team to fight Akatsuki."

"What?" Jiraiya began to object, "There is no way I'm going to be on that team."

"You have to be," Tsunade said evenly.

"And why is that?" Jiraiya asked.

"Because Ero-Sannin," Naruto answered, "You are the best with complex seals and the only one that can fight on S-Level besides the Third, Tsunade and me."

Jiraiya was silent after that. Naruto had a point it was not like either Hokage could go on field assignments that were required for this mission. In all honesty he was expecting to be placed on the ream in some way it was just the idea of taking orders from a teenager that he objected to, "Alright, but I don't like someone of my stature taking orders from a kid."

"First you will be taking orders from me," Tsunade said. "Second, because of your contacts and knowledge of the Tailed Beasts will be equal to Naruto in command on this."

"You were going to put Ero-Sannin on this to begin with weren't you?" Naruto asked.

"Yes Naruto," Tsunade answered, "If you had not picked him I would have put him on the team. He has the experience and strength for this. You and he will be in charge because neither of you can be in two places at once and will most likely go out on multiple occasions."

"I understand," Naruto said.

"Well then let me hear about the team you choose," Jiraiya said. "But I reserve the right to add anyone I deem necessary."

"I don't think there will be a problem," Tsunade said, "He actually added a couple for reasons we did not consider."

After they told him Jiraiya admitted he did not think about the research people either, "Good work, when everyone gets back from their missions we'll assemble the team."

In the Akatsuki headquarters another sphere of stone stood next to the previous one. There were four members of Akatsuki around it, "This one was easy to get," said Zetsu. "The Three Tail was not even guarded all that well."

"Grass-nins were not known for their planning when it comes to guarding something," Sasori said. "They relay too much on their traps, and anyone who can recognize them can disable them immediately."

"Which was why you and Isamu was sent," came the deep voice from a mountain of a man. "You were from Grass and Isamu could detect what the traps that you could not see."

"Still it would have been fun if there were more," came the voice of the bat-like man. "I was not even challenged."

"Enough," the leader called entering the chamber, "The others have reported that they have near the Six-Tails. They have also reported that Konoha has alliterated Stone of our actions."

"Stone will not believe them," the giant man said, "Especially after the war."

"Still Konoha is becoming rather bothersome," Zetsu said, "We should deal with them."

"They are not enough of a threat to warrant direct action," the leader said, "But if any of you become involved with a Konoha shinobi then deal with them at your own discretion."

"What is our next target?" Sasori asks.

"The next will be the One Tail," the leader says. "Events have quieted down enough for us to acquire him. Sasori you and Jubei will go and retrieve it."

Sasori turns to the giant of a man saying, "Let's go we I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"You are an impatient man," Jubei said, "It will take at least four days to reach Suna, we have plenty of time."

"Just don't keep me waiting," Sasori said before walking off.

In Orochimaru's stronghold Kabuto makes his way to the Snake-Sannin. He has news that will please his master. As he approaches the Sannin calls out to him, "What is it Kabuto?"

"I have news from Konoha," Kabuto said.

"And what news is that?" the Sannin asks as he turns away from his latest experiment victim. He got a new idea for a Kinjutsu just a couple of days ago and wanted to test to see if it was possible.

"It appears Sasuke-kun is part of a group whose sole purpose is to investigate Akatsuki," Kabuto answers with a smile.

Orochimaru's smile mimics Kabuto's, "This fits perfectly with my plans. There will be even less propting to get him out of the village. What do our spies report on Akatsuki's whereabouts?"

"They have just completed capturing the Tailed Beast in Grass Country and are currently retrieving the one from Stone," Kabuto said.

"And was Itachi part of either group?" Orochimaru inquired

"No Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto answers. "Our spies do not know his location at this time. But they have all been informed to keep a look out for him."

"And what about the Sound Four?" Orochimaru asks. "How are they adapting to the Curse Seals?"

"They are doing quite well," Kabuto said, "In fact they may be more powerful than the previous Sound Four. They just need a few more days to get used to their new forms and then they will be ready."

"Good because I will need them when I go after my new body. Even if the Uchiha brothers weaken each other others may try to interfere." Orochimaru then returns to his sickening experiment as the pour soul moans in pain.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

The assembled shinobi and nomads were gathered in the meeting room that was designated for them. When the first meeting was called a few of the shinobi were surprised to see outsiders in such an important meeting, but held their tongue after it was explained that the leader of the team had requested them. When the saw Jiraiya in the room they assumed that it was he to ask for the nomads. When the shinobi learned it was Naruto that suggested them Aki and Sho objected, most of the others had either heard of them from friends or met them personally. Aki and Sho soon shut their mouths when they learned that Naruto would have just as much say over the team as Jiriaya, and that the Hokage personally approved the nomads involvement. During the first meeting everyone was shocked by the announcement that they would be the team that would directly deal with the Tailed Beasts and Akatsuki but accepted the position anyway.

It was about a week since the first meeting and five members of the group were away tracking down a lead on the whereabouts of the Three Tailed Panther. The six that were gone were, Jiriaya because word about it being sealed had reached them, Gai, Lee, Hiashi, Ino and Zala; one of the nomads, because of a strange language that were reported by the lead. "The last report from Jiriaya's team indicated they found the last known location of the Three Tailed Panther in Grass Country and are searching for it's exact location," Naruto reported to the group, "Now Aki, Sho, and Lin what have you found in the archives?"

Lin became involved in the research part of the team when it was discover that some of the references to the Tailed Beasts were written in the ancient runic language. Lin aided Aki and Sho in several translations. In fact the three worked so well together Naruto decided that Lin should be a permanent part of the research team. Aki as head of the team stood up, "We have been trying to find the location of the last two Tailed Beasts, the Seven Tailed Ox and the Eight Tailed Dragon. It has been difficult to track them through the archives mainly because there has not been a sighting for either one of them for the past one hundred years. The last known sighting of the Ox was to the far northern boarder in Cloud Country and the Dragon in the southern part of Tea Country."

"But other than that we have very little idea where they could be," So continued. "According to our research these particular Tailed Beasts are the least active ones. The appearances seem to be at random and those appearances range from glimpses on the horizon to people coming within less than thirty meters of them. The odd thing is only a few times did the Tailed Beasts actually attack people."

"Were the attacks on villages or small groups of people?" Naruto asked.

"Villages for the most part," Lin answered, "In fact there was a survivor account of the Eight Tailed Dragon's destruction of Moon Village, 'The great beast descended on our village. We had been preparing for weeks, after all it was no secret that the attempt to capture and use the Dragon had failed and it would be coming for us. Its sheer size blocked out the sun as it descended onto the village. No one had the power to stop it even the Kage in the end the village was destroyed leavening little more than a ruin.' This witness account was over two hundred years old. It was copied by the First Hokage from a journal he found in his travels in the west."

"So the only clues we have are general locations in Cloud and Tea Country," Kakashi mused, "Not much to go on."

"Where do we stand on facts, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"We know the location of only two of the Tailed Beasts, the One Tail Raccoon in Suna and the Five Tail Tiger near Mist," Shikamaru replied, "We also know that the Akatsuki have taken the Four Tailed Wolf and the Six Tailed Hawk. We suspect that the Two Tailed Bear has also been from Stone, but we cannot be certain. Stone is being rather uncooperative."

"What is your opinion on the status of the Bear?" Naruto asked.

"In my opinion," Shikamaru said, "I would say Akatsuki has it. Stone did not believe our warning and have not mentioned anything about fighting off the Akatsuki. It is safe to assume they would advertise they were able to defeat members of Akatsuki if they had."

"Okay so as of this moment we will consider them to have the Two Tailed Bear as well. And what of the Tiger?"

"At the moment it is still safe," Shikamaru said, "Mist has increased security around its prison and have been rather corporative with its updates. They are asking that we give them as much information on Akatsuki's members as we have."

"Do you think that is wise?" Kurenai asked.

"I believe so," Kiba answered, "S-class criminals are rated as threats to all shinobi villages. That means if any are working with other S-class then that only increases the risk and Akatsuki are nine S-class Missing-nins."

"I agree with Kiba," Shikamaru stated, "They have provided us with the abilities of the Samehada that Kisame uses. So I believe it would be in our best interest to tell them as much as we do."

"Okay," Naruto agreed, "Send a messenger bird with the known information on the members we know about. Until Juriaya's team send word…"

A Chunin rushing into the room cut off Naruto, "I'm sorry for interrupting but we have an urgent message from Suna about Akatsuki."

"What does it say?" Naruto asked.

"It says that two people matching the descriptions of the outfits Akatsuki wears had been spotted on the outskirts of Suna. Garra and a team of Jounins went after them but have not reported back."

"We should go and help," Kakashi advised, "We cannot afford to have Akatsuki take possession of another Tailed Beast."

"Alright," Naruto nodded, "Tell the Hokage that we are going to Suna to deal with Akatsuki." The Chunin nodded well aware of the duties this group had. Once he left Naruto turned to group, "We need speed on this one to be of any help to Suna. Kakashi, Sakura, Neji, and Shizune are coming with me. The rest of you wait here and send word to Jiriaya on our situation. While I'm gone I'm leaving Shikamaru in charge until Jiriaya or I gets back. The only one who can override Shikamaru's orders are is Tsunade or the Third." Everyone nodded in understanding, "Meet at the West Gate in fifteen minutes."

Just after Naruto left he was met by Sasuke, "I'm going with you."

"No you're not," Naruto returned, "I know what you are thinking and Itachi is not there. If he was Suna would have said so. We told them the members we knew of for certain, the message said two unknown members." Sasuke did not look like he would relent so Naruto continued, "With Jiriaya and I both gone you are the only one strong enough if other members of Akatsuki up. I need you here more than I need you with me."

Alright," Sasuke relented, "But remember if Itachi…"

"I know," Naruto said, "I gave my word that if any reports say Itachi is involved you would go. You have my word." Sasuke nodded and Naruto went off to get ready.

Jiriaya's team were kneeling patiently outside of what looked like some kind of out post. The six were positioned about a kilometer away from the outpost. Four members of the group were kneeled in the one knee, one leg under their body the other forward. The other two had both knees under them, each with a look of extreme concentration on their faces. One was a middle aged man with long black hair with his white eyes wide open staring off to the out post, the second was a teen age blonde girl with her eyes shut tightly. The blonde was focusing all her attention on the person she was controlling in the outpost while the black haired man was waiting for the girl's signal to show that it was clear for the group to enter. After about fifteen minutes Hiashi spoke, "There's the signal."

"Here's the plan," Jiriaya said. "Gai Lee stay here to guard Ino. Hiashi, Zala you're coming with me. We need someone who can look around corners and someone who can read those runes."

No one objected but Gai asked, "How do we know if the something goes wrong?"

"Ino will let go of her control of the guard and return to warn you," Jiriaya said. Without another word the three people dashed to the outpost.

A couple of minutes later they were greeted by the guard Ino was controlling, "I was able to secure a route to the past the outer wall. Once we're inside we'll have to play it by ear though." The three nodded and followed Ino/guard.

She led the three to the inside of the wall. "Hiashi take a look around and tell us what you see," Jiriaya ordered.

Activating his Byakugan Hiashi looked around them, through wall, around corners and even through the ceiling and floor. "There are two guards about ten meters around the corner and three on the other side of the wall. No one above or below us."

"Ino go distract the guard and we'll get them from behind," Jiriaya said. Ino nodded and made her way around the corner. Hiashi was keeping watch and nodded as soon as the guards' backs were to the group. They then silently and swiftly snuck up and knocked them out. This routine continued until they reached a central vault.

"This is where the prison should be," Ino said. "And we should hurry, I starting to get tired."

"How much longer do you have?" Zala asked.

"I can probably go for another half hour or so," Ino said.

"Let's hurry then," Jiriaya said. They undid the locks and opened the vault. What was in the room surprised them. It was empty except for some seals and other writing on the walls ceiling and floor. "Is this the right room?" he wondered silently.

"Yes it is," Zala said, "The writing is the runic language."

"What does it say?" Hiashi asked.

"Mostly about trapping a great power," Zala answered, "An ancient power from another place."

"And the seals are specially designed for binding a great amount of chakra," Jiriaya said. "This is or was the right place, but the question is, was the prison moved or stolen?"

"I would say stolen," Hiashi answered. "I can still see large amounts of charka being generated by the seals. That would mean that they do not know the prison is gone."

"Alright I'll start coping the seals Zala start coping the runes," Jiriaya ordered, "We can figure them out completely later." The went to work, there were less runes than seals as it appeared that whom ever designed this place was not as familiar with them as they were seals.

They were almost done when Ino stated, "Guys I'm getting rather tired here, hurry it up!"

"Yes do hurry," Hiashi said, "I can see guards coming this way, and it is only a matter of time until they notice the other guards that are missing."

"I'm done you?" Zala asked. Jiriaya nodded and the four left the room.

Outside the strong hold Gai and Lee were getting nervous. In their opinion the infiltration was taking to long. "Gai-sensei, wouldn't it have been faster if they used Henge to get past the guards instead making Ino control one."

"Normally yes," Gai answered, "But remember Lee, Zala may be a skilled warrior but she does not know Henge no Jutsu. There for it would not be practical to even try it." Lee nodded in understanding and turned back to the out post.

Anther few minutes later Ino suddenly opened her eyes with a disturbed look on her face. "They are on their way," Ino said, "We ran into a little trouble but nothing the other couldn't handle." Gai and Lee nodded and helped Ino into a standing potion after they clearly saw she was getting tired.

Another minute passed and the other three came into sight, "That Katana is a most impressive technique," Hiashi said.

"Yeah I wouldn't mind knowing a few Open Skill moves," Jiriaya agreed.

"I might be able to show you something when we get back," Zala said.

"Did you find the prison?" Gai asked.

"No it was already gone," Jiriaya said. "We should leave here, it would not be wise to remain." With Gai and Lee still aiding Ino the six left the area.

After the six were a decent amount of distance from the out post they stopped for a rest, "This is bad," Jiriaya commented, "This means that Akatsuki have at least Tailed Beasts."

"We do not know it was Akatsuki who took them," Hiashi said.

"True," Gai said, "But we should probably assume they did."

"We could investigate around more," Lee suggested, "If someone else took it then we should know for sure."

"No," Jiriaya said. "My contacts told me that the Panther was inside that out post. And if they said it was there then it was there. I only last contacted two days before we arrived. And with Chakra still being pumped into the seals then that means the out post had not noticed it yet. It would take some one of extremely high level skill to get in and out without being noticed."

"Someone like an Akatsuki member," Ino concluded.

"Correct," Jiriaya confirmed. "I'll send word back to Konoha about the news then we'll head back ourselves."

On the outskirts of Suna, there were several bodies lying across the ground. Some were dead other were dieing but none were standing. That is except three people, two were wearing black cloaks with red clouds and the other was maroon combat gear with a large gourd on his back.

Garra stared at the two Akatsuki members thinking, "Theses two are the strongest opponents I have faced. Not even the old Kazekage gave me this much trouble." It was true Garra and his team fought the two for several hours and the sand Jounins had lost leaving only Garra to faces them. Garra was reluctant to use Shukaku so close the to the village because it might as well turn on village as soon as kill the Akatsuki members.

The two Akatsuki members Jubei and Sasori were not much better than Garra. The combination of the Jounins and Garra's absolute defense the two were fatigued from the combat. "We need to end this quickly Jubei," Sasori said, "We are both running low of chakra."

"Yes," Jubei said, "Though it is not suprising he has given us trouble, he does have the terrain advantage here. I was planning on not to have to have to use this but I guess I have no choice." Jubei then began a long serious of hand seals in preparation for his strongest jutsu.

Garra watched as the taller of his two opponents began his had seals. Garra could tell that this would be a powerful jutsu and tried to interrupt him by sending a hand made of sand to catch him in Subaku SouSou. But the one Garra recognized as Sasori interrupted Garra's attack with his puppet body by taking the blow. Many of the wooden pieces that made up Sasori's body were crushed in compacting sand but it was enough time for Sasori's partner to finish.

"This is the end," Jubei said, "Doton-Katon no Jutsu." This was a unique Kinjutsu that only Jubei has ever been able to do. It was a combination of earth and fire elements that caused the ground under the target to erupt just like a volcano.

And that was exactly what Garra felt under his feet. At first the jutsu did not appear to do anything but soon the ground under Garra began to shake violently then Garra could feel heat begin to rise as the sand under him started to spread apart. Acting on its own the sand in Garra's gourd began to condense below his feet and under his men that were still alive. He took into account length of the seal sequence and figured his normal Suna no Tate would not work this time so he focused everything into his ultimate defense, "Saikou Zettai Bougyo Shukaku no Tate!" The ultimate defense just finished as a huge eruption occurred underneath Garra. The blast sent Garra, his defense and the injured Jounins high into the air, the shield just barely holding, the heat turning the sand into glass as the earth drove into it breaking the glass as it rose.

Jubei and Sasori were carried teleported a safe distance away from the blast and watched the display. Damage occurred for nearly a hundred meters in every direction as the small volcano spewed more and more debris into the air. They stood silently as the eruption slowly came to an end and the lava that surged from the ground quickly became dry as Jubei no longer had enough chakra to maintain the heat. When the smoke was cleared by the constant wind from the desert they saw Garra standing on the black rock breathing hard with several Jounins lying behind him. "We must retreat," Jubei said. "Reinforcements are coming and I am out of chakra and you are damaged."

"Yes," Sasori agreed. Though it was clear Garra could not continue it was clear that neither could they, "He had greater control over the One Tail then we thought, we will have to try again." Sasori then willed his puppet body up and performed some hand seals and he and Jubei disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Once the enemy was gone Garra dropped to his knees, "Almost did not make it," he said as he passed out just as two familiar figures, his elder siblings, came upon him.

Two days later Naruto's team arrived at Suna. They had come across the black rocked and feared for the worst. The guards at the entrance were hesitant to let them in, but word from the Kazekage allowed the Konoha shinobi entrance.

When they arrived at the Kazekage's Office, Baki informed them, "Garra is safe though he was exhausted from the battle."

"What were the casualties?" Shizune asked as she was a medic.

"Six were killed and seven others were severely injured," Baki said, "Three have been poisoned and we are having trouble treating them."

"Kazekage-sama," Naruto spoke up, "Hinata hear is one of the best Medic-nins in Konoha, would you permit her to aid you injured shinobi."

"We could use the help," Baki said, "You have my permission, please do what you can." Hinata bowed and exited the room to head to the hospital close by. "Garra wished to speak with you as soon as you arrived Shadow Claw."

"Where is he?" Naruto asked.

"He is on the roof," Baki answered.

"Thank you," Naruto said, "Would you please allow by people to rest as we ran almost nonstop here."

"Of course," Baki said, "I have made preparations for your team to stay at the same hotel as the last time you were here."

Naruto nodded and bowed before leaving the office. He immediately went to roof and found Garra waiting for him just like the Kazekage said. "You were correct," Garra said. "They were far stronger than I gave them credit for."

"You are not their prisoner," Naruto said, "That means you beat them where others have not."

"I did not beat them," Garra said, "It was a draw. They left for fear of reinforcements, if my brother and sister had not shown up then I may not be talking to you."

"So what do you plan to do now?" Naruto asked, "They will come back for you and this time there will be more and be better prepared."

"I have been thinking about this," Garra said, "I believe it would be best if we fought them together. It would consolidate our forces and keep at least one of their targets under your supervision."

"That sounds like the most logical coarse of action," Naruto agreed, "But I will have to inform the Hokage of the request but I believe she will agree as well." Garra nodded and Naruto left to check on the others.

Later Naruto had sent the message to Tsunade along with the official request from the Kazekage and was waiting for the reply. During the wait Hinata was able to effectively treat the poison victims with the aid of an old female shinobi that was familiar with the poison that was used. When evening came around a messenger from the Kazekage showed up at the hotel, "Your Hokage has replied."

"Thank you," Naruto said taking the scroll. He read it and jerked in surprise.

Kakashi who was near saw the reaction and asked, "What is it Naruto, did Tsunade-sama agree to the arrangement?"

"Yes," Naruto answered, "But that is not what disturbed me."

"Then what is it Naruto?" asked Sakura.

"According to Jiriaya," Naruto began, "The Akatsuki have the Three Tailed Panther, that means they have four of the Tailed Beasts."


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Naruto stood in front of his team after returning from Suna. Before he left he had gotten word back that Tsunade was giving permission to have Garra be allowed to enter and join Konoha on a temporary basis. Given the facts that she had been presented with Tsunade did not have much choice. After his team got back those in the room had already been informed of Garra's status. When Garra first met the others in Konoha he was surprised when they were not afraid of him. Even with his calmness back home Garra had always seen fear in most of the citizens, the only thing here was a slight uneasiness. But that passed quickly as Jiriaya called a meeting for an update on all the information that had been collected after people got separated. "So what do we know for sure?" Naruto asked.

"We know the Akatsuki has two of the Tailed Beasts," Sasuke answered. "And according to our suspicions they have two others, but we are not certain."

"All the evidence points to the Akatsuki possessing those other two," Jiriaya added, "I would suggest we just go ahead and assume they already have them."

Naruto nodded and began his share of the information, "And according to Garra," Naruto pointed to the Suna shinobi to his right, "We know two more members of the Akatsuki, Sasori of the Red Sands, a Missing-nin from Suna that specializes in puppets and has converted large portions of his body to that, and we know that he also uses poisons. We also know of Jubei from Stone, and again according to Garra he can combine different Ninjustu elements creating even more powerful attacks."

"What about Mist?" Gai asked, "We know the Tiger is there, why do we not go get it?"

"I would recommend against that action," Shikamaru spoke up. "Mist has been more corporative than the other shinobi villages but not to the extent of allowing us to enter their territory. With everything we have accomplished, I think they are afraid of us and want to keep us at arms length. And sneaking in and stealing the Tiger's prison would not help us in the long run. The last thing we need is another enemy at this point." This argument seemed to satisfy the group, after all the village still had to watch it's back it case other villages saw it as weakening.

"What about the locations of the two that are loose?" Naruto asked.

Aki at this point stepped forward, "Unfortunately we still did not know their location. As we said before they appear to be the most reclusive."

"Alright then," Naruto said. "I think for the time being we are standing down. Other than research there is not much we can do. And I think we could all use time to unwind a little." Everyone rather liked the suggestion, those that went out of the missions had not had a chance to rest since they left and the ones that remained were to tense to relax incase they need to be deployed. "Even you three," Naruto pointed to Aki, Sho and Lin, "Take a couple of days off. Sooner or later we will be facing either the two strongest Tailed Beasts left or more Akatsuki members."

"In that case I have some business to take care of," Jiriaya said making his way to the door.

He was just about out of the room when Hiashi spoke, "Just do not come near Hyuuga's private bathhouse." Jiriaya froze being caught about what he was going to do. He could feel the holes burning into his back from various people and quickly dashed out of the room.

"So you lost, yeah," Deidera stated. She had a smug look on her face. Her mission had ended in success and as a result they now had four of the eight remaining Tailed Beasts in the world. "Guess we should have sent more, yeah."

"Quite Deidera," Sasori snapped. He had just finished repairing the broken parts of his puppet attachments, but he was still seething from his and Jubei's failure. "I am not in the mood to deal with you right now."

"I guess the One Tail was too much for you, yeah," Deidera taunted.

Sasori was about to intervene when Kisame came up to the pair, "He wants all of us in the central chamber."

A few moments later all nine Akatsuki members were in the central cave with the four stone spheres. "The One Tail has now joined with Konoha," the Leader said. "That will make it even more difficult to capture. So for now we will move on. The Five Tail will be your next target. Its location is well guarded, so I am sending Kisame, Zetsu and Isamu." The mentioned Akatsuki members then disappeared already to go. After they left the leader continued, "I have also found the location of the Seven Tail. It near the boarder between Wind and Night, once they return with the Five Tail we will move against the Seven Tail. We will use the others to capture it."

"What of the One Tail?" Jubei asked.

"Orochimaru has some of Sound shinobi watching our movements," the Leader stated. "He still wants the Sharingan but is too much of a coward to take on Itachi or his brother directly. He will send information on our movements if his pawns report Itachi is on the move."

"Use Orochimaru to set up a trap for the One Tail," Itachi concluded. "How do we know the One Tail will come?"

"We just let it slip that we are going after the Seven Tail," Sasori said, "They will send the strongest they have, the One Tail included."

"Kugi you will inform the Sound when we go to retrieve the Seven Tail in your unique way," the leader said. A man almost as tall as Jubei nodded.

Back in Konoha Naruto and Hinata were walking his way towards the Hyuuga compound. After the meeting Hiashi had invited them to dinner, not wanting to be rude they agreed. "I wonder why Father invited us to dinner?" Hinata asked.

Naruto shrugged, "He probably just misses you. You did move in with me when we got back and haven't visited him in a while. And other than the meetings there has been little interaction between you two."

"I suppose you're right," Hinata said as them came to the gate.

A Hyuuga guard noticed them and greeted with a bow, "Hinata-sama, Uzumaki-sama, Hiashi-sama is waiting for you in the rear garden. He asks that you join him there."

The couple nodded and entered the grounds. Because Hinata was the one who knew where the garden was she led the way. It only took them a few minutes before they found Hiashi standing in the middle of a beautiful patch of flowers. As they approached Hinata spoke up, "Good evening Father."

"Good evening Hinata, Naruto," Hiashi returned the greeting, "It is good to see you outside missions and meetings." Hinata glanced at Naruto who just smiled in return, "The meal will be ready momentarily, Hinata, why don't you go see Hanabi she has been asking to see you lately."

Hinata nodded and left to find her sister when she was gone Naruto asked, "Did you wish to speak to me alone?"

"Yes actually," Hiashi said, "I am no fool and know that some of the people are going to die when we confront Akatsuki directly." Naruto made no sound but nodded in agreement, "You obviously knew this so I ask you this," Hiashi turned to Naruto with a serious look on his face, "Why did you choose her to be on the team?"

Naruto returned the look with equal strength, "I thought about the team I wanted, no needed for hours on end, I knew that I needed the best, and Hinata-chan is one of the best, at fighting and healing. She was the hardest member of the team I enlisted because I love her so much, but a leader must sometimes make decisions that put their loved ones at risk." Naruto then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I don't know what I would do if she died, especially if it was my decision that led to her death. All I can do is have faith in her abilities as a shinobi and pray she does not get hurt."

Hiashi was silently staring at Naruto for several seconds. He had just heard the words his father told him when he took the title of Clan Head years ago. Hiashi could understand the young shinobi's words better than anyone for they were the words of a true leader. "You will make a good Hokage."

Naruto smiled at Hiashi, "Good, I'll be the best." Hiashi could not help but laugh at Naruto's statement. Soon Naruto joined his father-in-law and the two laughed for a good minute until Hinata came out with her younger sister.

"Father, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "The food is ready." The two nodded and joined the two girls for the meal.

Two days later a message from Mist arrived. In the message there was a report that everyone on the team hated to hear. The Akatsuki were able to steal the Tiger's prison. After the quick break everyone was in higher spirits before the message came in. Now that they heard it the group became very frustrated. "Damn!" Kiba cursed, "We're always two steps behind those bustards! Can't we get just one break?" Everyone was feeling about the same way as Kiba.

"We need to know the location of the last two Tailed Beasts," Jiriaya stated. "We need to get to them before Akatsuki does."

"Speaking of which," Kakashi said, "Where is Sho?"

"I think he may be in the decoding room," Aki said, "Yesterday he mentioned something about finding some information in one of the Second's scrolls."

"Then we should…" Lee was cut off by the very shinobi they were looking for burst into the room.

"I'm sorry for being so late," Sho said panting. "But I have some news that I think you will all like." He paused to catch his breath, "When some people were searching the Hokage Archives the other day they came across a scroll belonging to the Second, problem was is was still encoded. I was asked to help out in decoding; when I did what I read utterly surprised me. It turns out that the Second found the location of the Eight Tail Dragon."

There was dead silence in the room until Ino shouted, "Then why didn't you come up sooner?"

"I…I just finished a few seconds ago," Sho replied.

"Where is the Dragon?" Garra asked.

"Turns out it was here in Fire Country all the time," Sho said, "Its at the southern border near Shin Mountain. He apparently wrote the scroll just before he died and the scroll just kind of got lost until yesterday."

"Finally that break you were talking about Kiba," Sakura said.

"We need to get on this right away," Jiriaya said. He was about to continue when the doors opened again and Ibiki walked in.

"I do not mean to interrupt but I have some information that you will want to hear," Ibiki said.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked, he had a bad feeling that the information would be disturbing and had to ask.

"We captured a Sound-nin trying to sneak in two days ago," Ibiki informed, "During his interrogation he revealed that Akatsuki have found the Seven Tail Ox."

"This seems just a little too convenient," Shikamaru said, his bad feeling was apparently correct.

"Convenient or not," Kakashi said, "We can't let this go. We know that Sound has been watching Akatsuki's movements so the information has a good chance at being accurate."

"But what do we do?" Shizune asked, "We just learned the location of the Dragon and then the Ox."

"We have to split up the team," Jiriaya said, "Akatsuki cannot get their hands on another Tailed Beast. And considering it's the Seven Tail Ox they will probably send their best after it."

"Itachi," Sasuke whispered.

Garra was the only one close enough to hear him and noticed Sasuke's eyes turned red. He saw the anger and knew the source, "He was betrayed."

"Alright listen up," Jiriaya ordered, "We have two targets that means two teams. I will lead one Naruto will the other. I'll take Kakashi, Kurenai, Hiashi, Zala, Sasuke, Kiba, Shizune and…"

"Me," Garra said.

"Garra we can't risk you getting captured by Akatsuki," Naruto stated.

"The team going after the Ox will have to be the stronger of the two," Garra explained, "They will be fighting Akatsuki and the Ox, my power will be needed there."

"He's correct Naruto," Jiriaya said, "It's a risk but we have to take it. Now the rest; Gai Lee, Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Neji and Lin will be with Naruto."

"I think it would be best if ask for back up as well," Naruto said, "We might need the extra power."

"Agreed," Jiriaya said, "I'll tell Tsunade to assign us some Anbu squads to each team. The rest of you get all your equipment. We will need to leave as soon as possible." Everyone nodded and then disappeared from the room to prepare for the battle ahead.

Author's Note: Short Chapter but this will lead into larger ones.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Naruto and his group along with twelve Anbu had been traveling for three days straight. In that time barely a word was spoken, everyone knew that there was a high chance that they would die. They were currently going against the strongest of the Tailed Beasts in their world. They could only pray that what the scroll from the Second Hokage said about the Dragon being in a state of dormancy. According to the scroll the Second Hokage researched the Dragon because it was the most elusive of the Tailed Beasts and was curious as too way. According to his own words the Dragon would go into dormancy every fifty years or so for some unknown reason. All they could do was hope that it was still dormant or was going into dormancy, other wise they would be slaughtered.

"Sir," an Anbu Captain said, "That is Mount Shin up ahead."

"Thank you," Naruto said. "It looks like we are about six hours travel away from the mountain." Naruto began to address everyone there, "We'll continue for another three hours and then rest we will need to be at our absolute best." No one objected in situations like this it was best just to follow orders unless something truly drastic came up.

Later as the team rested everyone went into smaller groups: the four Anbu teams were each by them selves; Lee, Gai, and Sakura were together: Ino, and Shikamaru were paired up; and Neji, Hinata, Lin and Naruto formed the last group. No one talked above a whisper, as is the habit of shinobi when they are about to enter danger. "I still don't see why he is in charge of the mission," an Anbu said.

"Who would be better?" an Anbu Captain stated, "Fight a beast with a person that had one. He has the most experience in dealing with something like this. This gives us the greatest chances of survival."

"I guess you're right," the first Anbu said, "But how can only the few of us hope to defeat this thing. It took nearly the entire village to slow down the Kyuubi and even then it was practically useless. And no one knows the sealing technique that the Fourth used."

"I talked to Uchiha about what he witnessed a few months ago when he saw Shadow Claw fight," the Captain said, "Uchiha said that the attack he used not only whipped out the oncoming forces but also leveled the entire area. And according to people overhearing the debriefing he did not have full control over the attack weakening it's power."

"So you think that Shadow Claw can control the attack properly know?" Another Anbu asked. The Captain did not answer only looked in the direction of Naruto's group.

"Why were we brought on this troublesome mission?" Shikamaru asked, "We're not strong enough to take on a Tailed Beast."

"We are part of the team," Ino answered, "We know what to watch out for, and you've got the brains to work out the best plan. Still this is a rather," she paused, "Intense mission." Ino looked over to Sakura and said, "I'm going to talk to Sakura we haven't talked in a while and…" She never finished and Shikamaru understood why.

"Both of you will probably have to open the Chakra Gates if we half to fight it," Sakura said.

"We are aware of that Sakura-san," Gai answered. For once the normally overly passionate duo were rather quite, "We have already removed our weights, we cannot afford to hold anything back against the Dragon. As soon as the order is given Lee and I will open all the Gates we can."

"Sakura-chan," Lee said, "I know you are worried about us using the Gates, but we have sworn to protect our precious people and if that entails us running our bodies then we are willing to make that sacrifice."

At that moment Ino joined the group, "Hey Sakura mind if I join you?"

"No Ino," Sakura responded, "We were just discussing what we were going to do against the Dragon."

"I see," Ino could see the tension between the three. In all honesty she came to talk to get her mind of the Dragon not think about it more. "So what do you plan to do when we get back?"

"I'm not really thinking about that Ino," Sakura answered.

Ino got a mischievous look on her face and winked at Lee and Gai, whom had no clue what that meant. That is until Ino spoke again, "Well when I get back I'm going to give Sasuke-kun a big kiss and tell him how I feel."

Like a conditioned response Sakura responded, "NO you're not Ino-pig. Sasuke-kun is mine and mine alone." Her anger immediately left with the laughing of Gai and Lee. After a few seconds Sakura finally caught on that Ino was joking to lesson the tension that had built up prior to her arrival. Soon Sakura herself was laughing at what she did, especially after remembering that Ino gave up on Sasuke the moment they she and he started going out.

Neji was silently meditating while Lin was too his right twirling a stick between her fingers and Naruto and Hinata were sitting to his back with Hinata in front of Naruto with his arms wrapped around her. "Why are they sitting like that?" Neji wondered.

"They always sit like that," Lin answered. Neji was surprised he did not mean to speak his thoughts, "They have being doing that when ever they would go out on patrol back home. I think they do it to remember what they fight for."

"I find it odd that I'm this close to them," Neji commented.

"Why is that?" Lin asked, "From what I have observed you are rather close to Hinata."

"We were not always close," Neji said, "A little more than two years ago I rather disliked Hinata-sama and only heard of Naruto in passing. At that time I considered them both very weak and would never even consider spending anytime with them."

"I heard about the division of the Branch Family and the Main Family of the Hyuuga Clan from Hinata once," Lin said. "I all honestly I could never understand that. In the tribe everyone is family and treated like it whether you marry in or are born in. It just seems like so strange to think that a tribe or in your case a clan would ever be separated into two different places."

"That has been the way the Clan always was but I do not think it will remain that way for much longer," Neji said. HE then thought for a few seconds and commented, "I would like to see how your tribe works, see everyone is treated as an equal without it being forced."

"I don't see a problem with that," Lin said. "As I said everyone who comes into the tribe regardless of how is treated like family. And since Gau I mean Naruto married Hinata that makes any member of her family a part of the tribe."

That statement took Neji back, he had never thought about it that way. And he doubted that even Hiashi had as well. From the standpoint of the Saville Tribe the Hyuuga Clan was now part of it. He had to smile at the thought of some of the future children of the new family learning either Open Skill Shadow Skill or Gentle Fist, a rather disturbing concept if one were to become an enemy of them. "Maybe I will request some time off and go visit."

"Family is always welcome," Lin responded.

Three hours later the group made it to the base of the mountain. There was dead silence everywhere around them. Almost as if the very mountain was afraid of what it housed. Everyone was prepared to starch searching the it when Naruto stopped them, "All of you wait here; I'll go in alone."

"You can't be serious Naruto," Sakura objected, "We don't even know were any kind of entrance is or if the Dragon is even here."

"It's here," Naruto said, "I can feel it, and I know how to find it."

"Then let us come with you Naruto-kun," Hinata pleaded.

"No it's waiting," Naruto said, "It's curious about something and has not attacked yet. There may be a small chance we can avoid a battle. If not I will signal you. Gai is in charge until I get back."

"What will the signal be?" An Anbu Captain asked.

"You'll know it when you feel it," Naruto answered as he dashed away from sight.

"What does that mean?" Ino wondered.

"It means we'll sense his or the Dragon's power when the fight starts," Hinata said.

Naruto followed the feeling like he was receiving like a beacon. He quickly made his way to a cave half way up the mountain. The cave was huge big enough for Gamabunta to enter, yet still surprisingly well hidden by a permanent shadow cast by the large boulders on the top and sides of the cave. Naruto entered cave and the feeling he was getting was stronger than ever. After about ten minutes of walking the cave opened into a cavern that was probably as big as half the mountain. When he entered two large purple glowing eyes greeted him. "At first I thought you were an offspring of Kyuubi," a voice so deep it seemed to rattle Naruto's bones spoke. "I sensed traces of his power in you as you and the other humans approached. I wondered why Kyuubi would ever mate with a human so I held my attack. But as you got closer I realized that you were not his offspring but something else and again I held my attack. So tell me what are you?"

"I am the former vessel for the Kyuubi," Naruto answered, "Some of his chakra is now a permanent part of me."

"That would explain the feeling," the Eight Tailed Dragon spoke, "But if you say former then that means he is not imprisoned in you anymore. If Kyuubi escaped then you would be dead and I would still be able to sense him."

"Kyuubi was sent back to the demon world," Naruto informed, "He was sent there by Darkness."

Naruto felt the ground shake as an indication of movement from the Dragon, "So he is still around I thought he would have gone to his own origin a long time ago." The purple eyes moved closer to Naruto, "Now then why have you come here. If you believe you can use me as a tool like those fools did two hundred years ago then you are a fool."

"I have come because there are people that seek your power," Naruto answered, "Though my village is not them."

"You think to little of me if you think a group of humans can use me," the Dragon retorted.

"They have already taken most of the others all ready," Naruto said. "And soon they will come for you. They will use the others powers to capture you. And then they will use all of you to bring Kyuubi back."

"Then they are fools," The Dragon said, "If you wish to live then leave. I have never desired the destruction of any human village but I do not like it when my nest is disturbed and you are disturbing my nest."

"I am afraid I cannot leave," Naruto said, "I do not wish to be your enemy but I also can't afford the risk of the people after you gaining your power. So I guess we have no choice." Naruto could feel the Dragon's incredible power begin to rise and knew that was his signal to leave. He could not fight the Dragon properly in its own layer, so using all of his speed he quickly left the cave.

Down at the base of the mountain the others felt the rise of powerful and dangerous chakra, "Lets go!" Gai ordered and the shinobi dashed off to find their leader.

Naruto exited the cave just as the group arrived when they met Naruto spoke, "Fell apart now we fight, remember the plan." The other nodded and they moved away from the entrance just as the Dragon came out.

Everyone got into the position Shikamaru indicated as the most effective formation. The plan entailed a series of stalling to give Naruto enough time to power up enough to use Kanon. The problem was that he needed extra time to concentrate enough on the Language of Martial Arts to draw out all his power. The plan started with Gai and Lee, they could do the most damage for the longest about of time because of the Gates. "Hachimon Tonkou Dai-Roku Keimon Kai!" Gai and Lee shouted in unison as they opened six of the Eight Chakra Gates, causing their bodies to erupt in power.

The Eight Tailed Dragon had exited its cave and was floating over the mountain when it sensed two very powerful chakra sources, "Impressive for humans," the Dragon thought, "Together they are about half as strong as the source that cause Kyuubi's imprisonment." The Dragon then focused its attention on the sources and saw as they rushed at him with, even to it, impressive speeds.

Gai and Lee wasted none of their limited time and rushed up the mountain and leapt into the air from two different sides of the Dragon. Knowing that the grapple moves of Lotus would not work on something this large they instead had to just their basic moves. Then again at the level they were fighting at even the basic moves your do damage. So while Gai attacked with his hands from the left, Lee attacked with legs from the right. Each hitting as hard as they could whenever they could.

The Dragon could feel the impacts of the humans' fists and feet as the made their way around its lengthy body. It had to admit that they did hurt a bit and he knew that at least some of his scales had been damaged as well. Because they were to close for it to attack with its mouth so the Dragon resorted to attacking with its tails. Unfortunately his targets were too small and moving to fast along its body for it to hit properly.

On the ground the others were preparing for their attacks. Those that had summons were preparing to call them as soon as Gai and Lee were done. Once that was complete they would all use the strongest attack jutsus they had that could affect a target of this size.

Gai and Lee were starting to wear down, it had only been a minute and a half but the strain they were putting on their bodies was quickly taking its toll. As Gai went for another punch his left bicep snapped causing him to fall off the Dragon. Lee seeing this jumped to catch his sensei, but just as he pushed off both of his legs broke causing him to scream in pain. Both injuries were enough for the Dragon to Gai into Lee with one of its tails sending them crashing down onto the mountain.

"Gai and Lee are down!" Shikamaru shouted, "Next attack group go!"

Three separate voices called out, "Kyuchiyose no Jutsu!" And a giant boar, falcon and weasel appeared each the size of a medium sized house, with all the Anbu riding on their bodies.

The boar picked up several boulders into its mouth and flung them as hard as it could at the Dragon. In mid flight the board charged and leapt at the Dragon. While the Dragon batted away at the boulders with its tails the Boar was able gash the Dragon with its tusks. And with this happened the Anbu on its back all called out "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" Three streams of fire shot out of their mouths and changing into smaller versions of what they were fighting and struck the Eight Tailed Beast.

At the same time as the boar the Falcon soared above the Eight Tail and began to flap its wings as hard as it could, causing twisters to slam into the Dragon. On its back the Anbu called out, "Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu!" the formation of the water form the air caused extreme pain to the all Anbu but this was the strongest water jutsu each could do. All members had known Kakashi and he had taught them some jutsus he copied from Zabuza. The spinning water then water came down and crashed into the Dragon just after the fire dragons.

From bellow the Dragon the weasel pulled off its back two Kamas half the size of its body and left and did several slashes to the underside of the Dragon. The Anbu riding it threw out all of their fuma-shurikens and called out "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" the dozen or so giant shurikens then multiplied into over a hundred and hit the Dragon.

Then final attack from the weasel was the signal for Neji and Lin. They would be the final assault on the Dragon each using the strongest attack they could. Neji began, using his Byakugan to focus on the head he put as much charka as he could into his hands and called out, "Hakke ShoSho!" the result was a massive vacuum attack slamming directly into the Dragon's face.

At the same time as Neji Lin thrust her palm forward calling out, "Open Skill: Clay!" her body glowed with chakra for a moment then she disappeared then reappeared in the exact same spot, but not after leaving a long series of cuts on the Dragon's neck. The combined affect of all the attack caused a tremendous impact and explosion around the Dragon.

Down on the ground Hinata and Ino were looking for Gai and Lee when the explosion happened. The both looked up to see dust and steam cover the area. After a few seconds of silence a deafening roar from the Dragon caused everyone to shiver in fear.

The Dragon was angry and roared its rage. These humans and their pets had actually hurt it. Nowhere near enough to kill or even render it unconscious but for one such as it to be hurt by them was an insult. And for that insult the Dragon began to wave its tails in a seemingly random pattern but in reality it was using it's tails to mold chakra in perpetration for its own attack. "They will pay!" the Dragon thought as it caused the sky to darken suddenly blocking out the sky.

"What's it doing?" was on the thoughts of everyone on the ground. Their thoughts were answered when several powerful bolts of lighting shot out of the clouds striking the summons as well as several areas around them making the summons disappear in a burst of smoke. "Damn it," Shikamaru cursed loudly, "Naruto you better finishing that thing off!"

Naruto did not hear Shikamaru. While the others were attacking he was moving to a point to where he could do the most damage with Kanon. As he made his way up the mountain he could see the storm cloud form and then the lighting strike the summons. "Shit!" Naruto thought, "I have to do it know." He looked around and saw a large boulder not far from him, "That will half to do!" He ran to the boulder and began, "I AM INVINCIBLE!" he shouted, his body tensing up with the high release of chakra, "NO ONE CAN DEFEAT MY SHADOW SKILL!" more chakra caused his body to ripple with power, "AND NO ONE CAN SURVIVE ONE OF MY BLOWS!" with the last verse Naruto leapt into the air all his power flowing through his body. So much so that the Dragon stopped his attack just as Naruto began to flip to position his body to deliver his ultimate attack. The Dragon's purple eyes focused on Naruto with surprise held with in them as he called out, "SHADOW SKILL ULTIMATE ATTACK: KANON!" The orbs of chakra raced out of Naruto's extended foot crashing into the face of the Dragon at relative point black range causing Dragon's head to fly back resulting in it falling to the mountain side falling into unconsciousness.

Nearly a half an hour past and Hinata came back with another Anbu. Shikamaru, Ino and Hinata were able to gather most of the other members of the team, but not all. "Have you found Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she began to heal the Anbu member she had.

"I'm sorry Hinata," Ino said. "But I couldn't find him."

"Neither could I," Shikamaru said entering the clearing with Lin being dragged behind him. "We'll keep looking for as long as it takes. He was the one that allowed us to survive so even if…"

"He's not dead," Hinata said sternly. The others did not comment.

The three were about to go out on another search when the felt a massive release of chakra. "Now what?" Ino screamed.

"Now I thank you for defeating the Eight Tail for me," a voice to the right said. The three conscious shinobi turned and saw a lone figure wearing Akatsuki clothing standing there hold into two times, well one item and one body. "I did not imagine that he would be able to defeat the Dragon without the Fox," he gestured to the body that was not clearly Naruto. "I know have the Eight Tail," he held up what looked like some type of urn, "And the former vessel of the Nine Tail. I must really thank you for that. And as thanks I will let you live." He turned and began to leave when Hinata acting on pure fury tried to stop him. All he did was stop and at the right moment elbowed Hinata when she got close enough sending her back several meters. After that he casually walked a way as if nothing happened.

Just before Hinata passed out she whispered, "Naruto-kun."

At the same time Naruto's team was fighting the Eight Tailed Dragon, Jiriaya's team made it to the area where the information from the Sound spy indicated. They could already hear and feel the massive battle happening between the Seven Tailed Ox and Akatsuki. "So what is the plan?" Kakashi asked. "Do we wait or attack?"

"We wait," Jiriaya said. "At the level of the jutsus they are using they will be severely weakened by the end. And if the Ox kills some of them so much the better. Now spread out and set up for an ambush." The group consisting of the ones Jiriaya selected as well as several Anbu and Jounin jumped away from each other but still with in range to instantly help each other if the need arises.

At the battle with the Ox the Akatsuki were preparing to finish it off. They were using special runes to siphon off power from the spheres they brought with them to conserve their own chakra. "It's almost weak enough!" Kisame said. "It's time to stop pulling punches and bag this thing."

"Kisame is correct," Jubei said. "Let us finish this."

"Yes especially since the other target is here," Zetsu said.

Four members, Itachi, Kisame, Deidera and Jubei, then began the hand seals required for their attacks. Itachi with the fasts hand seal speed finished first, "Amaterasu no Jutsu." The black flames burst of Itachi's hands heading straight to the Ox that was being held firm by the massive paralyzing jutsus the others had just created. When the black fire hit the Ox it snarled in pain at the intensity of the heat.

The next to finish was Kisame performing, "Goshoku Zame!" the five sharks shot out of his hands, through the water from a previous jutsu earlier and leaped into the air taking massive bites from the Ox. The Ox after just being burned now had its flesh ripped off let another snarl of pain.

Deidera finished next with her special clay figures, "Here comes my special number sixteen, yeah." A large clay bird shot out from her hand and flew directly at the Ox exploding on impact.

This time the Ox did not have time to give any indication of pain as Jubei finished his hand seals, "Katon-Doton," causing a small volcanic eruption to happen under the Ox. "Now seal it while it is weakest."

"Now let us go get the One Tail," Sasori said. He was waiting for a chance to pay back the vessel.

"We shall keep the others busy," Itachi said. He could sense his brother close by and went to find him. He was curious because Sasuke seemed to feel different then last time.

Sasuke was not making any indication to hide his presence, he wanted to be found and soon got his wish. "Itachi, now I will kill you," he said to his brother as he appeared in front of him.

"You are different from the last time foolish brother," Itachi said. "Because I have never felt the Mangekyou Sharingan on the receiving end I am curios if this is what it feels like."

"Not exactly Itachi," Sasuke smirked. He activated his Sharingan revealing the fourth point.

"This is surprising," Itachi admitted, "I did not know of such a level. But what can it do?"

"Watch," Sasuke instructed as he dashed towards his brother. When he got close enough he reeled back and threw a chakra charged fist into his brother's face.

Itachi was beyond surprised now. He could not predict Sasuke's moves with his Sharingan, "So the fourth mark blocks other Sharingan's abilities to see techniques in advance." He then activated the Mangekyou Sharingan and the three bladed shuriken image in his eye appeared, "In that case let us test against this form." Itachi met the gaze of his brother and activated, "Tsuki-Yomi."

Sasuke found himself in the world that gave him nightmares for years after the slaughter of his clan. "Not this time Itachi," Sasuke said. He activated the even more advanced form and the four point star form appeared. "I have not even named this form yes but for now, we will see who is stronger."

For the next seventy hours in the brothers' minds a war of wills was raged. Itachi would send images of him killing Sasuke over and over again and Sasuke would be able to block some as send his own images right back. Itachi would then counter Sasuke and the process would continue. This lasted for the entire duration of the seventy hours, when the jutsu ended both Sasuke and Itachi dropped to the ground breathing hard. "You have come very far Sasuke. But you still cannot beat me." He stood up and began to advance of Sasuke whom was still recovering from the chakra expenditure.

"That used up more chakra than I thought," Sasuke thought as Itachi approached. "I don't have anything left to fight him off with. I guess I shouldn't have been so overconfident."

Itachi was only three meters from Sasuke when suddenly a wall of purple fire appeared in-between them. "Thank you for helping me get my Sharingan Itachi-kun."

"You dare interfere with my battle Orochimaru?" Itachi said. "You know you cannot defeat me."

"Not yet but," Orochimaru came out of the ground behind Sasuke and knocked him out, "Once I get Sasuke-kun's body I will face you." Orochimaru had his eyes shut so Itachi could not affect him. "Now I must leave." He picked up Sasuke and disappeared in puff of smoke. A second later the purple wall also disappeared.

Jiriaya was having a hard time fending off Kisame and Jubei. They worked in a tag team fashion as one would attack him pull back and then the other would. It was a simple but effective tactic, "If I had just some help with would be a lot easier. But the others are busy with the other members." Jiriaya was about to perform another jutsu when Kisame took a swing with Samehada and absorbed the chakra, "And that's not helping either."

"Give up old man you can't win," Kisame taunted. In reality it was the Akatsuki that could not win. The Konoha shinobi had them out numbered and if what he sensed from Itachi was accurate then they had already beaten or fought to a draw with one their best. "Just need to stall a little bit longer until they the One Tail."

Garra was fighting alone. He had sensed the presence of demon chakra near him and went to investigate. That had been his mistake, for the demon chakra was coming from three spheres of stone with two members of Akatsuki waiting for him. One he recognized, Sasori, the other was a woman apparently from Stone. "You know you can't defeat me," Garra addressed Sasori.

"That was then, yeah," Deidera answered. "Now you face me instead of Jubei, yeah." Three pieces of clay shot forward from her hand taking the shape of small birds. When they came with in a half meter of Garra the sand automatically came up and blocked the explosion.

"Suna Shuriken," Garra said as clumps of sand raced towards the two Akatsuki members. The dodged resulting in Sasori being missed completely and Deidera only getting hit once resulting a minor wound.

"Not bad yeah," Deidera smirked, "But try number four." More pieces of clay came out of her hand this time taking the form of a large insect. Again Garra's sand blocked the attack. But unlike last time the resulting explosion was enough to knock him back.

"I have to go on the offensive," Garra thought. He waved his hand and a large clump of sand burst from his gourd and struck at the two. This time Garra concentrated on Deidera and was able to get her arm. After her arm was encased in sand he squeezed his hand and the sand crushed Deidera's arm. As soon as he did that though Sasori used his tail to cut the sand off freeing Deidera. The sand then retreated back to the gourd.

"I can see why you had such a hard time, yeah," Deidera said to Sasori. "He is strong but know he has lost."

"Just do it already we need to leave," Sasori said impatiently.

"Yeah," Deidera smiled. She lowered her head in concentration for moment then snapped it up saying, "Special number 8: Kai."

Garra's eyes widened as he felt the sand in his gourd felt funny. He realized to late that when he crushed Deidera hand she slipped something into his sand. The result was an explosion right on his back sending him forward right into contact with Sasori. And without his sand to protect him Garra was pierced by Sasori's tail. "We need you alive so this will only knock you out. You should feel incredibly lucky I don't have my normal poison."

Back with Jiriaya, he and his opponents were both breathing hard when a plant grew out of the ground, "We got him lets go," Zetsu said. That was all they needed to hear as the three then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Three days later both teams were back and each heard the news from the other. Adding up the results, seven people were dead, everyone else with various degrees of wounds three members of the team have been capture by enemies and to top it all off, the Akatsuki got the last three of the Tailed Beasts. Needless to say no one was feeling very well after this mission.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Naruto blinked his eyes to make sure he was not asleep. For when he first opened his eyes he found he was in a pitch-black room. When he tried to move he discovered that he was bound to the floor with his limps spread far apart. When Naruto tried to summon his chakra he found it to be extremely difficult. All this together could only mean one thing. He was captured and being held prisoner.

After realizing he was captured, the first thought that Naruto had was to escape. But once he tested all his restrains one last time he found at least at the moment that would be impossible. The next thought he had involved the battle he and his team had fought just before he fell unconscious. Naruto became worried over whether or not they survived the Dragon and if they did were they free or imprisoned just like Naruto. While thinking of his team Naruto's thought became focused on one in particular, "Hinata," he whispered.

"I only took you if that is what you are wondering," a voice came from the darkness.

"Who are you? Where are you?" Naruto called out. The voice seemed to come from everywhere in the room, even under him.

"Not in there," the voice said, "I was simply alerted to your waking from the seals you are lying against."

"You still did not answer my first question," Naruto said.

"Aoba," the voice called.

"Aoba," Naruto said, "Why am I here?"

"You'll find out later," Aoba said.

"What do you mean I'll find out later?" Naruto yelled. He did not receive a reply, "Aoba?" Still no reply, Naruto then decided he was not going to get any answers and fell quit somewhat relieved that the others had not been captured.

The leader of the Akastuki turned away from the glowing seal and approached the other members, "Shadow Claw is awake."

"Why is here?" Itachi asked. "What use do we have for him?"

"To call a demon from the demon world one must not only have large amounts of chakra but also a sacrifice," Aoba answered. "And what better sacrifice then the demon's former vessel."

"Speaking of vessels," Sasori mentioned, "What about the One Tail's. We still need to extract it."

"It will take a few more days," Jubei said, "We needed to modify the One Tail's old sphere so that it could hold the Eight Tail. The new sphere is still being constructed."

"How long until it's done?" Kisame asked.

"Another day or so," Jubei said.

"Then it will take at least three days to extract the One Tail from the vessel," Aoba added. "Until then the containment seals and runes will keep him imprisoned."

"Suna and Konoha will be looking for us, yeah," Deidera mentioned.

"They will not find us," Zetsu said.

"You forget about Sound," Itachi said, "Orochimaru has taken my brother, if some how Sasuke is able to escape and beat him then he could find out about this location."

"Has your brother gotten that strong?" Kisame asked.

"He was able to match the Mangekyou in strength with the new forms," Itachi said, "If he had more experience then he could have over power it."

"Then that is a yes," Kisame said.

"Then it may be wise to deal with Orochimaru now before anything happens," Zetsu said.

"Wait until after the Sphere is complete," Aoba said, "Then go and deal with Orochimaru."

In his own dark cell Sasuke was listening for anyone that was approaching his location. As far as he could tell he had woken up about six hours ago to find himself hanging from a wall with his arms and legs bond and blind fold over his eyes. That only left one sense for him to gather information from. The only clues he was able to get however were from muffled voices that would pass by him ever couple of hours. From what he was able to piece together was that he had either lost or tied with his brother then passed out. Then was taken away to Sound and that mean only one thing, he was a prisoner of Orochimaru. Sasuke remembered warnings that the traitor wanted the Sharingan and he figured out that Orochimaru was just waiting for the opportunity to strike.

After a few minutes of listening Sasuke was able to hear muffled voices and the sound of feet hitting stone coming in his direction. Slumping once again to make it seem like he was asleep Sasuke waited until they would either pass of take a few minutes to observe him then leave. Neither happened this time; this time the voices and foot falls stopped right in front of him and a voice addressed, "There is no need for that Sasuke-kun, I know you are awake."

Sasuke raised his head and turned his blindfolded face to the voice, "If you know I'm awake now then you knew I was awake earlier."

"Correct," a different voice said. "There was no need for us to hide anything from you so we just let you play your game."

"And know that I can no longer play my game why don't you tell me which one of you is Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked.

"I am Sasuke-kun," the first voice said.

"Then the other must be that Kabuto that I keep hearing about from the others around," Sasuke said.

"Correct again," the second voice said. "He is as smart as the reports indicate Orochimaru-sama."

"Yes he is," Orochimaru said.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"I am merely here to tell you that your friend has been captured by the Akatsuki," Orochimaru said. He often took pleasure in seeing the reactions of his victims. And bad news always got several amusing actions. At least most of the time, this time was not one of those as Sasuke began to laugh.

"If they're foolish enough to take him then I would actually feel sorry for them," Sasuke said. "Well all except Itachi that is. When Naruto is done with the others I'm sure he'll leave my brother to me."

"You show great faith in his abilities Sasuke-kun," Kabuto stated. His voice lacked the usual arrogance it normal held when addressing a prisoner. He help anger and resentment, he did not like willful prisoners.

"He crushed the Sound Four didn't he," Sasuke retorted, "Then defeated a small army of Stone Shinobi. And that was months ago. I can only image how strong he has become since then." Even though what Sasuke was saying was true he was not normally one to express his respect for others that much. It was just something you picked up from his mannerisms. But in this situation he need as much information as possible, and after sitting in on some interrogations he learned that information could be past both ways if the interrogator was not careful. And judging by Kabuto's reaction he was making him off balance.

"The Former Sound Four were too weak to take him!" Kabuto retorted. He really did not like the attitude of this Uchiha. He had the same superiority as his brother. And Kabuto hated Itachi for the air about him.

"Former," Sasuke thought, "So that means that the old ones have been replaced and are probably stronger than the ones Naruto killed. Definitely something to look out for when I escape."

"Yes I admit," Orochimaru said, "He is quite powerful, but not strong enough to take on Akatsuki by himself. And if he is still alive after everything I would like to, 'examine' him to learn about the types of jutsus he has learned from the Kyuubi."

"They still think Naruto has the Kyuubi," Sasuke thought. "Something is not right here. If they knew where Itachi and I were fighting then they were watching both of us. They should know that Naruto no longer has the Fox. That could mean their spy network is incomplete. Or just that they assumed Shadow Skill is demonic in nature."

"It won't matter anyway though," Orochimaru said, "Soon I will have my new Sharingan and after that my dream will be closer to being accomplished."

Sasuke then heard the foot steps leaving and thought, "He wants my Sharingan but is not exploring my eyes. I wonder what he has planned." Once they were gone Sasuke started to scratch his finger against one of his chains. Once his blood was flowing he began slow gestures with single hand. "Took me a long time to figure out how but I can do some jutsus one handed. I'm glad Kakashi-sensei insisted I learn summoning one handed it'll defiantly come in handy. For know though I'll have to wait for an opportunity

In Konoha no one was feeling that well. After news of the missions' failure spread among the shinobi many became scared by prospect of the Tailed Beasts and the Akatsuki. But the ones that were feeling the worst were the members, not only for failing the missions but also for the lost two of their own. Enemy forces took two of the strongest shinobi in the village and there was nothing they could do about it.

Tsunade sat in her office looking at the object in front of her. In all honesty when she first received it she had no idea what she was going to do with it. Technically it was a family heirloom that she could not just give away but then again she did not have much use for it herself. That meant she had to find someone whom she thought was worthy of receiving it, some one skilled enough and wise enough. She had her eye on one in particular for some time now.

When she asked her sensei for some advise many weeks ago he had given her the name. She admitted that the person was good enough but she was reluctant in seeing if they were wise enough. After weeks of observation she felt the Third was correct in his recommendation. The only thing she had yet to decide was when to give it to them. And after the mission and the implications of what must be done she felt now was the best time. "Hokage-sama," a Chunin addressed her entering the office, "Your appointment is here."

"Very well send him," Tsunade said. The Chunin bowed and gestured for the person behind him to enter. "Welcome Neji-san. Please have a seat we some things to discuss."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Neji nodded taking the seat. If someone were to ask him even Neji would admit he was nervous about talking to the Hokage. After the mission failure and the news that Naruto was abducted he had heard the Fifth Hokage had acted almost as bad as Hinata. It was no secret that the Fifth was fond of the blonde and even less of one to him after witnessing everything she did for Hinata and Naruto. "Why have you summoned me here, I was training in preparation for the upcoming battles."

"Ironic you should mention training and upcoming battles," Tsunade said. "You know of Kisame correct," Neji nodded, "And his sword the Samehada," again Neji nodded. "Then you know that it is one of best swords made in all of the shinobi villages."

"Yes I know this," Neji said, "Please forgive my rudeness but what are you getting at?"

Tsunade smiled, "When we find out where Akatsuki is hiding we are sending our best shinobi after them. And you are one of the best so you are going." She stood up and turned out to the Hokage Monument, "This time we are going in fully prepared. With specific people against specific targets. You are going after Kisame; the Samehada's ability to absorb chakra requires someone with good offensive and defensive chakra capabilities. That mean you," She then turned back around her face like stone, "However Gentle Fist will not be enough, to be effective you need to get in close to Kisame and that requires coming with the range of his sword. For that you will need a sword just as good if not better than his." She looked down at her desk and Neji followed her gaze. What he saw there surprised him, mostly because he had not noticed it earlier. "I am giving you the Second Hokage's personal weapon, the Raijin." She picked up the sword and handed it to a stunned Neji, "Use it wisely to protect those closest to you."

Neji took the legendary sword and examined it carefully. He was reluctant to believe this was the real thing. After he was done examining it he knew for sure it was the same weapon he retrieved from that traitor Aio months ago. Realizing the faith and trust his Hokage was placing on him Neji bowed as low as he could, "Thank you Hokage-sama. It is an extreme honor to receive this sword." He then stood straight pushing chakra into the handle activating the blade. He brought it close to his face in salute, all the while feeling the electricity from the blade, "And I swear by this sword I will use it to retrieve Uzumaki Naruto."

Inside the apartment she shared with her husband Hinata laid on the bed she had barely moved from for days. Her body hurt all over and it was not from the injuries she sustained from the mission. It was for the simple reason Naruto was gone, and for all she knew he was dead. People tried to comfort her but she was non responsive to any of them, everyone said it was not her fault but she did not feel that way. After all she tried to save him but failed miserably. Nothing anyone could say would take away that feeling. "Hinata may I come in?" a voice called from the other side of the bedroom door. Hinata did not answer, she just turned away from the sound not wanting anyone's company. "I'm coming in Hinata," the door opened and someone who left weeks ago had returned, Naruto's Aunt Isalia. "I came back as soon as I heard. You know I'm beginning to hate this village more than anything else in the world. It seems to nothing but take my family away piece by piece." Again no response, Isalia moved over to the bed and sat down, "I know it hurts believe me I know," Isalia said, "But we must continue to fight."

"Why?" Hinata asked. She was feeling so low right now that she was questioning her own worth.

"Because that stubborn nephew of mine is too stubborn to die," Isalia said with a smile in her voice. "And he would be heart broken if he knew you were crying." Once again she received no reply, "I came to tell you that I am going after him, even if it's on my own. I won't loose another family member without trying again." Isalia stood and left the room. When she was out of the apartment she turned to one last glance and moved towards the hotel she and the rest of her tribe members were staying. She only took three steps when she heard someone land behind her.

"I'll come too," Hinata said. Her voice strong and focused. Isalia turned and smiled at the Shinobi and then continued toward her destination.

On top of the Hokage Monument the Third Hokage and his perverted former student stood staring out over the village. "Which target do we go after first?" Jiraiya asked. "Both are extremely important and have high levels of danger to the village."

The Third nodded in agreement, "True, we cannot let Akatsuki bring the Kyuubi back and finish whatever they have planned nor can we let Orochimaru have the Sharingan."

"We both knew which Tsunade will put more importance on," Jiriaya said he then shook his head, "It's decisions like this that made me not want the job."

"In the end it comes down a single person or the whole village right now," the Third said. "Orochimaru taking Sasuke's body will end the Uchiha Clan. The Akatsuki summoning the Kyuubi back into this world risks ending the village, more like several villages."

"So you agree with her choice of targets?" Jiriaya asked.

"Does not really matter if I agree or not," The Third said. "She is the Hokage now, I am just here for advisory purposes and the occasional diplomatic mission. All we can do is hope that Sasuke can either get himself out of Orochimaru's hands or at least resist him until the Akatsuki business is done with."

"I'm normally not a praying man," Jiriaya said, "But in this case I think I'll go to the local temple."

Kakashi stood with Sakura staring at the memorial stone. One particular spot that had been scratched through in particular. The spot belonged to Naruto's name before it was scratched off after he came back. "You know I find it ironic really," Kakashi said.

"What's that Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked confused.

"When we had Naruto's funeral I was disgusted with the village for not showing up," Kakashi admitted, "Almost to the point of leaving. But now I here his abduction in the same manner as Sasuke's, many people wanting to go after just as much."

"Yeah I know," Sakura agreed. She had a hard time deciding which she wanted to rescue more, Naruto or Sasuke. In all honesty she was glad it was not here decision on which to after, no matter what she would regret it.

"As soon as we have any clue on where Akatsuki is located," Kakashi said, "We're going after them. And it will be an all or nothing mission. Finish it or not come back, we can't afford anything else." Because of the alter status anyone that was good enough to even attempt Sasuke's rescue could not leave the village so that meant he was on his own.

"I just wish we could save Sasuke-kun too," Sakura thought.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

When Naruto opened his eyes this time he was not enveloped in complete darkness. This time he was in a dimly lit cavern with just a half dozen torches for lighting. He was still bound to the flour and could hardly move, but he could move his head well enough to look around. Naruto saw that he was in a chamber surrounded by eight stone spheres. It was easy for him to detect the primal energies that were locked into each one. "So this is what they did with the Tailed Beasts," Naruto said. "And since there are eight of them then that means that the Garra no longer has his either."

"Correct," a voice said in the direction of Naruto's feet. "You former vessels are interesting. You seem to retain bits of the Demons' that were housed in your body once they are extracted. You for instance retained the Fox's healing ability and immense chakra supply, and Garra retained his ability to control sand. We had to put him down for we was still quite dangerous."

"What did you do to him?" Naruto demanded.

"He is still alive that I can assure you of," Aoba said stepping in to the light.

"Why are you keeping us alive?" Naruto asked. "What possible use can we be to you?"

"You will be needed to bring the Nine Tails back," Aoba said. "Garra, we are keeping for much more Earthly purposes. We have learned that he was next in line for Kazekage."

"You're keeping him alive for money?" Naruto asked with total surprise.

"I could careless about money," Aoba said, "But some of the others still have desire for it. And as long as their desires do not interfere with my ambitions I do not care what they do."

"And what is your ambition?" Naruto asked.

"I have no reason to tell you that," Aoba said.

"Well in any case let me tell you this," Naruto warned, "If you think you can control the Tailed Beasts you're wrong. It's impossible to do. I was only able to get that damn Fox to cooperate because he was given a way to go back to the demon world once my training was complete." Aoba made no reply and just turned and left the chamber.

When Aoba left he was greeted by Jubei, "The Kugi and Zetsu have left to deal with Orochimaru. It will take them three days to get there and another three to return. Factor in about a day of fighting we have another week until they get back."

"Good it will take at least that long for me to make the proper runes," Aoba said.

In Konoha several people were making final preparations for the targets of Akatsuki they were to fight. At the private training area in the Hyuuga compound Neji was practicing with Raijin. He was lucky that after he became a Chunin he decided to broaden his own skills past Gentle Fist. With the help of Tenten Neji was able to learn a bit of Kenjutsu. Now he was getting pointers from her father and learning to adapt them with his Byakugan with the help of Hiashi.

Neji was currently facing off against Tenten's father in a sparring match with practice swords and loosing rather badly. Tenten's father made a quick dash to the left of Neji's swing and dodged the attack then countered by hitting Neji in the ribs. After which Neji dropped to his knee and Tenten's father placed the practice sword to his neck. "You loose again Neji-san." Neji nodded and stood back up, "However you have progressed very well for such a short time."

"Have I progressed enough to beat one of the Seven Swordsman of Mist?" Neji asked.

"With the performance you displayed now," Tenten's father answered, "Absolutely not; even I could not beat them. With your Byakugan activated however, I would say you have the best chance out of anyone to defeat one of them."

As the two finished speaking Hiashi moved to join them. "Keep on your guard Neji. Kisame was known as the most ruthless of the Seven Swordsman and he will show you no mercy."

"He has a member of our Clan," Neji responded, "I will not show him any either."

In another part of the village, Lee and Gai had fully recovered from their injuries and were practicing at their old training fields. "Gai-sensei who is our target again?"

"Our target is the one known as Deidera," Gai answered. "According to all the reports we have of her fighting she has never come in close combat. That would mean her Taijutsu is low. Making us the best choice to face her."

But Gai-sensei," Lee objected, "We do not have many distance attacks that puts us at a disadvantage."

"That is why there are two of us fighting her," Gai replied. "Givers her more targets to focus on and our speed also make it hard for her to keep track of us." Lee nodded in understanding and went back to his training.

ON the Hokage Monument Kakashi was taking with Jiriaya. "I still do not agree with my target. Without Sasuke, I am the only one that can fight Itachi's Sharingan."

"You are the last person to fight Itachi," Jiriaya said. "Your Sharingan is no match for his. Just focus on Jubei. His mixing of elements makes him tricky, only someone with the brains, skills, speed, and arsenal can fight him. That means you." Jiriaya then faces away from him. "Besides the best person to fight a Sharingan is someone that it has no effect on. A style that it can't copy or counter."

"That means one of the Saville's," Kakashi said, "But which one?'

"Isalia," Jiriaya answered, "Apparently she is the best at Open Skill. And from what I heard she is quite deadly."

At the hospital Hinata was reading through several scrolls. Her focus was primarily on artificial limbs and poisons. Her reason, she was selected to take out Sasori. She had the best chance because of her familiarity with the human body and poisons. "Hinata, are you sure you wish to do this?" Shizune asked.

"Yes," Hinata said not looking up from her scroll, "I will not loose Naruto-kun." She went back to the scroll totally ignoring the person behind her.

Asuma sat smoking his cigarette looking at his partner that had come from Suna. He was that kid Garra's elder brother Kankuro. The two of them had been selected to take out a guy named Zetsu. Grass had sent information on him and his ability to use plants made Asuma a good choice. With his calm attitude and ability to increase the strength of bladed weapons. Kankuro was selected also because his puppets could carry a verity of weapons and poisons of all kinds, such as defoliants. "So why are you here kid?"

"Suna's here because the Kazekage sent us to help," Kankuro said. "If you mean me, I am here to rescue my brother."

"Think you can?" Asuma asked, "Way I heard it Garra was the strongest in your village and he couldn't stop Akatsuki."

"I don't care," Kankuro said, "I'm getting my brother out of there."

"Fare enough," Asuma said. "Just be sure to watch my back and I'll be sure to watch yours." Kankuro nodded and started to clean his puppets.

"Why did you volunteer to go Daisuke?" Kurenai asked.

"From the information from the Sound-nin that was captured," Daisuke answered, "We found out the last members of Akatsuki. The one called Kugi, I have my own score to settle with him."

"Then why was I selected?" Kurenai asked.

"He is Genjutsu master such as yourself," Daisuke answered, "You are the best choice."

Sakura had just come from getting a little sparring match with Lee. She wanted her skills to be at their best when she fought the bat like person the she had been informed of. His abilities were mostly unknown but two things that were known about him were that he had excellent skills in Air based attacks and his ability to fight in dark places. Sakura was chosen because she was second only to Shikamaru when I came to using her head in a battle, and she was much stronger than Shikamaru physically making her better as a field operative. She was especially known to be able to fight in nearly all situations without loosing her cool. Combined this with her Suna partner's wind attacks and her own tactical ability, they were the best to fight Isamu. "Hey Pinkie," Temari called out, "You done training with two with the thick eyebrows?"

"Yeah," Sakura answered. "I'm finished but they said they were going to keep going."

"Good," Temari walked up to Sakura, "Those two act a little two weird for my tastes." Silence passed the two for a few minutes until Temari spoke again, "This kind of feels weird teaming up."

Sakura nodded, "Its not every day two villages team up the way we are. And I've never heard of anyone using people that were not even part of a shinobi village."

"Desperate times I guess," Temari said. "Just know one thing. I am getting my little brother back."

Sakura nodded, "And I'm getting Naruto back. They should be in the same place so we have a mutual target and goal." Temari nodded understanding what Sakura meant. They were not friends just allays and partners, but had agreed to work for the benefit of both.

Sasuke was still hanging against the wall of his cell. He had been awake for days know waiting for just the right opportunity to escape. Sasuke was able to stay focused and alter because of Anbu training but even that was starting to waver. "If something does not happen soon I will have to try on my own," Sasuke thought. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a vibration coming from the wall. "What's going on?"

His answer came from a figure stepping in front of his cell. "I am afraid your time is up Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said.

"Does it have anything to do with attack that's taking place," Sasuke was going out on a limb here by his guess but right now he did not have much choice.

"Yes it is," Kabuto said. "Apparently Orochimaru's associates do not want him alive any longer. The Sound Four are holding them off but Orochimaru-sama will need your body now."

This was what Sasuke was waiting for two days for. "I don't think so," Sasuke said finally completely the last one handed seal calling out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" slamming his palm into to wall pushing large amounts of chakra into it. A burst smoke filled the room, then the roof burst open clearing out the smoke. When the smoke cleared Sasuke was being held gently in the mouth of a giant silver dog. "Thanks Jenin," Sasuke called to the dog.

"Think nothing of it Sasuke-san," Jenin reply. "This place smells like snakes and death."

"Yeah I know," Sasuke said. "But right now we need to get out of here." The dog nodded positioning Sasuke on his back running off away from the area."

Back on the floor Kabuto was healing the broken leg he sustained by the falling ceiling, "How did he summon?" Kabuto wondered. "Orochimaru will not be pleased with his escape."

With the speed of the dog boss Jenin Sasuke was several kilometers from Sound in a matter of minutes. He was not ready to relax just yet but was grateful to finally feel the fresh air once again. Suddenly Jenin stopped in his tracks causing Sasuke to ask, "What's wrong?"

Jenin's answer was, "That." The dog gestured ahead as a giant Anaconda burst into existence in front of him with a person with long black hair and yellow eyes on it's head. "Manda," Jenin answered Sasuke's unasked question.

"Orochimaru," Manda said, "You had better have a good reason to summon me."

"My knew body was about to escape," Orochimaru answered, "And with it I will become even more powerful thus making you stronger."

"You had better prepare my food for this," Manda told.

While Manda and Orochimaru were talking Sasuke asked, "Can you beat Manda?"

"No," Jenin answered, "Manda is like boss of the Toads and Slugs its one of the Legendary Summons. I cannot match his power."

"Then what do you suggest?" Sasuke asked.

"Take out Orochimaru if you can," Jenin stated. "If you can take him out Manda may just leave. If not it will provide enough distraction for me to run. Manda won't be able to keep up with us for long."

"In that case," Sasuke focused chakra into his eyes, "Sharingan." He then increased it's level to the four point star, "I know it's risky but you have to get a little closer so I can it him with my white flames." Jenin nodded and dashed forward.

Manda seeing the other Boss Summon charge towards him laughed and called out, "Jenin you know you cannot defeat me!"

"That's why I'm going to try!" Jenin returned as he jumped into the air, "Sasuke do it now." Sasuke for his part leaped off of Jenin and rocketed towards the giant snake's head, or to be more specific Orochimaru.

Orochimaru hearing Jenin's call could not help but look at the projectile that was Sasuke coming right for him. Unfortunately for him this was Orochimaru's mistake as he was caught directly in Sasuke's gaze. Orochimaru suddenly felt his entire body go numb, and then every muscle in his body contracted freezing him in place. Sasuke was now close enough to see the four-point star of Sasuke's Sharingan and thought, "In stead of putting the person in a Genjutsu like Itachi. Sasuke's Sharingan overrides the bodies muscle control with hypnotic suggestion." He tried everything he could think of even using his tongue, "Nothing works!"

Those were his last thoughts as Sasuke came with a meter of Orochimaru doing several seals saying, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" White flames shot out of Sasuke's mouth at point black range towards Orochimaru. Even if Sasuke did not still have all of Orochimaru's muscle's under his control Orochimaru would not have been able to dodge the white flame in the shape of a dragon coming after him.

When smoke cleared Sasuke was standing before the charred remains that was once Orochimaru. Sasuke's attack was so powerful that it burned the Snake Sannin's body beyond recognition. Unfortunately that was not all that was burned, "That hurt human!" Manda had also been burnt by the attack and was now furious at Sasuke and began to shake him off.

Sasuke not having time to react fell from the snake's head impacting the ground rather hard. Wincing to stand back up he was scarred to see the giant mouth of Manda coming at him. Just as he was about to be eaten Sasuke was saved by his own summon. Jenin clamped his jaws on the back of Manda's neck just before he reached Sasuke. Manda screaming in agony through his head back causing Jenin to loose his grip. But that point did the task. Manda was too injured to remain and disappeared into burst of smoke. Jenin was also too injured to stay but before he left he addressed his summoner, "I'm sorry I cannot take you back to Konoha Sasuke." With that he disappeared as well.

Sasuke winced again as he stood up. He felt his sides and determined that he had at least two cracked ribs and several bruises all over his body. He started to make his way south as he knew that Fire Country was south of Sound village when someone dropped in front of him. "Going somewhere Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto asked.

"Shit!" Sasuke thought. With his injuries, low chakra and fatigue from lack of sleep he was in no condition to fight.

Kabuto turned to the black remains of Orochimaru, walked over to it and using chakra scalpels cut the head off. "You might want this when you return to Konoha."

"Why are you letting me go?" Sasuke asked.

"I really do not like Konoha," Kabuto said. "Don't ask why. But I loathed Orochimaru. I was just never strong enough to kill him myself. And besides you need to return to deliver this message to your village. Akatsuki are close to summoning the Demon Fox again and their base is at Ryo Temple at the Stone Boarder with Cliff Country." Kabuto then turned and left Sasuke alone. Not wanting to miss the chance for escape Sasuke picked up the head and continued south.

Two days later the guards at the gate were very tense. The entire village was tense with just waiting for any kind of news for the location of the base of Akatsuki. All their spies and allays were on the look out, even Jiriaya's but no one found anything.

One Guard had just been repromoted back to Chunin a few days ago and went back to Gate Duty today looked at the tree line and saw a person stumble out of the forest and collapse onto the ground. It was clear even at this distance the person was very banged up and needed medical attention, "Call the Medic-nins at once. There is an injured person down there. Also call the Anbu incase it is a spy." The other Guards nodded and jumped away. Then the Guard jumped down to the injured person when he got to the person and rolled him over he was surprised by who it was and what he was carrying a severed-charred head, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke hearing his name looked up at the voice and saw the Konoha forehead protector on the man's brow, "Akatsuki is at Ryo Temple," just before he passed out.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I do not own any wrights to Naruto or Shadow Skill. I merely use their characters and themes for entertainment purposes.

Tsunade had called the meeting with the people that were going into the Akatsuki strong hold. After she was told Sasuke had escaped from Orochimaru and returned and then passed out she immediately went to the Hospital to treat him herself. Along the way she had been told the severed head had been checked and to her and everyone's surprise in the village it turned out to be Orochimaru's. Most could not believe it but the evidence spoke for itself. Sasuke had fought and killed Orochimaru. When Sasuke regained consciousness a few hours after his treatment he told the Fifth Hokage everything that happened. Tsunade was shocked to see such a young shinobi take out one of the strongest shinobi in the world on his own. Then again another had taken down the Eight Tailed Beast not more than two weeks ago. For a moment she was actually frightened by the shinobi her own village was producing.

When everyone was gathered at the Hokage Office Tsunade began, "Alright people here is the plan. We now know the location of Akatsuki's base thanks to Uchiha Sasuke. It is at the Ryo Temple at the Stone Cliff Country Boarder. You all have been selected to assault the strong hold and take out Akatsuki by any means necessary. You are to stop them from freeing, using, or summoning any Tailed Beast and rescue Garra of the Desert and Uzumaki Naruto. Up to the entrance of the Temple you will be accompanied by several Anbu incase any member of Akatsuki escapes or if you are too late. You know your targets and your goals you leave immediately." The large group of shinobi left the gates of Konoha heading to the west. As they traveled Jiriaya took the lead each mentally preparing for the fight of their lives.

A day after the assault team left Shizune was making her rounds at the hospital when she came to a floor with several nurses in a panic. Wanting to find out what was wrong Shizune reached out and grabbed one of the nurses and demanded, "What is going on?"

"One of the patients cannot be found," answered the panicked nurse.

"Which one?" Shizune had a feeling she already knew whom it was.

"The patient in room 321," the nurse said, "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Do not bother searching for him," Shizune said. "He is not even in the village anymore much less the hospital." The nurse was confused but Shizune ignored them leaving the hospital to inform Tsunade.

In her office the Fifth was talking with the Third, "Does it get any easier sending so many out to possibly just die?"

"No it doesn't," The Third answered. "Every time you send them out you want to join them. Keep them safe, especially the young ones."

Tsunade was about to voice her agreement when Shizune burst into the room, "Tsunade-sama, Uchiha Sasuke has left the hospital!"

The two elder shinobi became silent for a few seconds before Tsunade said, "Thank you for informing me Shizune." Her assistant bowed and exited the room after no longer being needed. "We were both expecting this," Tsunade said to her teacher. "How long do you think it will take him to reach the others?"

"He is about a day behind them," the Third said. "But he is traveling on his own at his own speed. And even with his injuries he should be traveling faster than Jiriaya's group. They can only move as fast as their slowest person." He then thought for a moment, "I would say he would reach them by either the third or fourth day."

"So just before they enter combat then," Tsuande concluded. "Do you think he will be of any help?"

"Possibly," the Third answered, "He is quite strong and smart but will be more fatigued then the rest. There really is no way to tell at this point."

At the Akatsuki base the nine members were gathered together beginning the process to summon the last Tailed Beast. Kugi and Zetsu returned with the news that they were unable to kill Orochimaru because his Sound Four interfered. They told that even though they killed them quickly it was enough time for Orochimaru to escape. When they went looking for him the witnessed the battle between Orochimaru and Sasuke. Concluding that they needed to get back and warn of the impending attack the two returned. When they came back Akatsuki wasted no time preparing the summoning.

"Everyone into your places," Aoba ordered. The eight other members moved to the eight stone spheres and began doing the same hand seals in synchronization. Aoba himself stayed where he was and began chanting in a language no one could understand.

On the floor Naruto was still immobile and could nothing but watch as the Akatsuki began the ritual. "From what I have over heard it will take at least three days to complete the process," Naruto thought. "The seals under me keep me from summoning my chakra, even the Language of Martial Arts wouldn't call up enough to break the paralyzing jutsu. All I can do is hope that someone comes fast enough to stop this."

After three days of travel the group stopped to make final preparation. They were just two hours away from Ryo Temple and were checking to make sure they knew everything they had on them. It would not do well to reach for a weapon and suddenly they find out it was not there. It was at this time that Sasuke finally caught up to the group. He made no greeting except to walk right to Juriaya and ask, "I am going after Itachi." Everyone there already knew to expect this so no one objected.

The only statement that was made from Isalia, "He's all yours kid. But you are still injured so I'm coming as back up. I'll only interfere if some tries to interrupt." Sasuke nodded, it was good enough for him as long as he could finish his brother off he did not care who was there.

After the rest Jiriaya announced, "Alright. Let's get a move on we cannot waist anymore time here." Everyone silently stood up and once again ran in the direction of Ryo Temple.

While they were running a small plant moved following their movements. In the Akatsuki base Zetsu, not missing a single seal, said, "More than a dozen people are heading this way. We only got a few minutes until they arrive."

"Then we must stall them yeah," Deidera said.

"We'll use our real bodies to fight them," Kugi said. "Just remember to leave enough chakra to maintain control of the spheres."

"I'll go first, yeah," Deidera said. "I can hold them with my lucky numbers." With that Deidera's eyes suddenly became pure white and her normal smirking face became totally blank.

In another room Deidera's real body blinked as her mind entered. She then made a few hand seals and disappeared form room. She reappeared out side the cave and made her way to intercept the assault team. After a half an hour she spotted them and began a few hand seals. "They're strong, yeah, so I should use number 11 to start." A clay bird came out of her hand and flew off in the direction of her enemy.

While they were traveling Neji had his Byakugan activated so to keep an eye on every angle. He was in the middle of the formation when he spotted a strange looking bird coming toward the group. Focusing on the bird he noticed it had an explosive note inside of it. "Everyone get down!" he warned. Everyone immediately dropped just as the bird reached them and exploded in a huge explosion.

After a few seconds everyone stood up clearing the dust the bomb produced. "Gai, Lee," Jiriaya said, "There is your target." The two green clad shinobi nodded and jumped in the direction the bird came from.

It did not take Lee and Gai long to find their target. In fact she was standing in the open waiting for them. "Only the two of you, yeah. Must not think very much of me, yeah."

"Quite the contrary," Gai said, "Because of you status you have the honor of fighting Konoha's two Green Beasts." He struck his pose along with Lee. Whispering he said, "Remember Lee, we hit and run and divide her targets." Lee nodded and dashed off towards Deidera.

Seeing the direct charge from what she assumed was the son of the older one Deidera smirked bring another clay figure, in the shape of a spider, out and threw it at him. "Here's my number 2," the clay spider raced toward Lee and when it was about half way to him Lee changed directions. To his surprise the spider split apart and while one continued on the other veered off towards him.

Seeing that he did not have time to dodge Lee pulled out a kunai and tossed it at the clay spider. The impact caused the spider to explode far enough away so he was not be caught in the explosion but close enough for him to be hit by the shock wave. "Almost got me there," Lee thought. "I should use the smoke to get away." Using his speed Lee dashed for cover before the smoke cleared.

Gai had moved long before the spider split. But just like Lee he threw his own kunai and caused an explosion. The difference for him was that because he was further away he was not affected by the shockwave. "I have to get closer," he thought as he also moved from his spot.

Deidera had lost sight of Lee because of his closer proximity to the blast. But she was able to see Gai move just fine. "I'll use my homing ones this time, yeah," she said to herself. Two clay figures came out of her hand and took the shapes of two four winged birds. "Here you go, yeah." The clay birds flew away at incredible speed homing in their target.

Gai was alter enough to dodge the clay bird that came at him almost as fast as he could more. However because he jumped to avoid the first one he had to through a shuriken to stop the second. Like before it caused an explosion, but this one was twice as large as the first and the shockwave hit him. The result was him flying back and twisting in mid air causing him to have see the other coming at him giving him just enough time to cover up as the first bird impacted against his arms. Thanks to the plates he had in his Jounin Flak Jacket he would survive but for the rest of the fight he was out.

Hearing the first explosion Lee turned just in time to witness the second. "GAI-SENSEI!" he called out, but it was no use he saw his mentor crash into the ground even before Lee had a chance to try and catch him. Forcing back his tears Lee thought, "No more holding back." With that thought Lee undid the bandages in on his arms, "Hachimon Tonkou Dai-Roku, Keimon! Kai!" chakra then began to surge through body and then he dashed off in the direction of Deidera.

"What was that?" Deidera wondered as she felt incredible chakra explode from the area. The answer she got was a powerful kick to the chip sending her hurling into the air. Before she could even register what happened a series of blows followed that were stronger than anything thing she ever felt before.

Lee was just finishing the combo that would lead into his strongest move. After punching Deidera and sending attaching his bandages to her, Lee pulled her back up performing, "URA RENGE!" slamming his fist and foot into Deidera's body sending her crashing into the ground below. After the Taijutsu technique was performed the effects of the gates wore off causing Lee himself to crash into the ground below.

A few minutes after Gai and Lee left the group continued on. Another few minutes of traveling they came close to a river with Kisame standing there waiting for them. Neji wasting no time activated the Raijin and his Byakugan and attacked.

Kisame saw the attack coming. He was more than surprised to see the Raijin in the hands of the young Konoha shinobi. For a moment he forgot he was part of Akatsuki and remembered that it was every member's of the Seven Legendary Swordsman of Mist to face the Raijin. He brought Samehada up and blocked the strike. The shark man could feel his sword trying to absorb the chakra of the Raijin, but it was just to much and the lighting blade remained firm. Jumping back Kisame thought, "So this is what it feels like to fight that sword," he smiled, "This should be fun!" He charged his opponent and the two began a swinging and blocking, countering and pairing. After the first few exchanges Kisame could tell this person was not an experienced swordsman. His cuts were very basic and lacked fluidity. What made up for it was the precession and flexibility of the user. On more than one exchange Kisame came close to scoring a hit only to see the other bend over backwards to avoid the hit.

Neji was cursing hit lack of proficiency with the sword. He was only able to avoid the deadly shredding of the Samehada because of his Byakugan. As he moved in for another swing Kisame blocked and countered once more. This time instead of countering with another swing of the sword Kisame grabbed Neji and slammed him into the ground. Neji quickly rolled out of the way to avoid the Samehada. But not before hitting Kisame in the leg at some of his Chakra Holes. "Combine Gentle Fist and Kenjutsu and I should be able to win this." With renewed confidence Neji attacked once again this time after having his sword blocked he hit several places of Kisame's arms with his free hand.

Kisame felt his arms burn as Neji continued to use Gentle Fist whenever the two would get in close. Because of that Kisame decided to keep his distance. Jumping onto the river Kisame put his hands in the water and used, "Goshoku Zame!" the water then took the shape of five sharks and surged towards Neji.

Neji seeing the attack deactivated Raijin and placed the handle in his clothes. When the sharks were close enough Neji performed, "Hakke Kaiten!" the spinning mass of chakra blocked the five sharks attack kicking up water several meters into the air. That was when Kisame thought would be the best time to attack, under the cover of the water. Unknown to him however was the Byakugan's ability to see through any object. And because of this he was prepared and waited until Kisame was at just the right distance. Then when Kisame was less than two meters away Neji said, "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" he then struck Kisame closing all of his Chakra Holes forcing them closed making Kisame pass out because of the pain. When he was done Neji was breathing very hard, "I need to see if I can catch up to the others."

After catching his breath and eating a Soldier Pill Neji dashed to find his comrades. Along the way he caught witness to another fight involving Sakura Temari and their opponent. See this he paused to see if they would need assistance.

Isamu had just launched into the air and began flapping his wings at an incredible rate making gale force winds rain down of on the two girls. Temari for her part was having trouble opening her fan to counter the wind. And Sakura could not hit Isamu because he was out of range of any of her jutsus. "Temari divide his targets." Temari nodded and dashed away from Sakura.

With Isamu's bat ears he easily heard Sakura's voice over his own wind. Thinking up a plan he decided that Temari was the more of a threat because unless he could keep her from opening her fan than she would be able to match his wind with her own. So after checking to see which direction Temari went in and to make sure his back was not turned to Sakura he flew quickly after Temari.

Temari had moved no more than a hundred meters when she was picked up by another blast of wind and slammed into a close by tree. She looked up and saw Isamu smiling at her causing her to cringe. "I really hate bats!" she thought. "Damn it Pinkie where are you?"

"If you're hoping for you're friend to save you then don't be she has not moved since you split up," Isamu said.

"You find you're targets by sound just like a bat?" Temari asked.

"Yes," Isamu smiled again causing Temari to flinch. "I have the same hearing as a bat." He was expecting to hear her hear speed up like before indicating fear, but this time however her heart actually slowed.

Temari smiled, "That's what we wanted to hear."

"What?" Isamu asked. His questioned was answered when he noticed a small microphone sticking out of he collar. Then he heard the most ear splitting whistle coming from both in front and behind, "AAHHHH!" he screamed in agony as he griped his extremely sensitive ears.

Back with Sakura she was blowing on a high frequency whistle into her microphone, "The plan actually worked." When the two though of this they were not sure if it could work. They had to know just how bat like Isamu was. And when Sakura heard his confession that was all she needed and started blowing the whistle. "Not going to waist this!" She then charged towards Isamu still blowing into the whistle at full blast. In a matter of seconds Sakura was right behind the Akatsuki member and jumped flipped forward and slammed her heal into the back of his neck.

When Temari saw what her partner was doing she took her fan and swung it and at the very moment Sakura hit the back of his neck, Temari hit the front. The end result of the duel strike was the death of the Akatsuki member. "Well that worked out better than I thought," Temari smiled.

"Yes," Neji agreed coming up to the two young women, "It was an excellent strategy to use your opponents strength as his weakness." The two nodded in thanks, "Now we must catch up to the others."

Zetsu had been observing all three fights and reporting to the others, "All three have failed and are either dieing or dead."

"We just need a few more minutes to complete the ritual," Kugi said.

"Then we should seal the entrance," Jubei said. "I shall go, we cannot afford to loose anymore chakra or else the summoning will fail." Jubei then left the temporary body and awakened in his real one. He calmly made his way to the entrance of the cave just as the Jiriaya's group came up to it.

Kakashi seeing his target went to the front, "I guess it's my turn then." He then revealed his Sharingan in preparation for the fight.

"No it's not," Jubei said. He then began forming hand seals very quickly.

Kakashi recognizing the seals became wide eyed and warned the group, "Get back he's going to collapse the cave!"

The others were surprised but listened anyway and jumped back as far as they could just as Jubei finished the hand seals saying, "Doton: Iwa Yado Kuzushi." The entrance of the base then began to shake as several of the boulders started to fall from the ceiling. With his job complete Jubei left the now collapsed entrance to continue his part in the ritual.

Outside the closed entrance Kankuro was furious, "Now what do we do?"

"First you calm down," Jiriaya said. "Then we start digging."

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Kakashi said slamming his palm into the ground. After the smoke cleared there were several dogs of various breeds sitting in a circle. "Start digging." The dogs barked and got to work soon followed by the everyone else.

Inside his cell Garra was about to break free of his paralyzing jutsu and chakra dampening jutsu. Over the time of his imprisonment he had been able to gather small bit of chakra, enough for him to form and move his third eye around in order to observe his surroundings. He had used the eye to watch the ritual and saw the actions that led up to Jubei leaving and then coming back. After that he dispelled the eye and used the sand to start to break some of the seals under his body. It took a few minutes until broke the chakra dampening seals. That was all he needed, now that he had access to all his power he was able to fully break the paralysis jutsu. "I need to get to Uzumaki."

Garra then followed the path he found earlier with his eye to the chamber where the ritual was being performed. As he got closer he could feel the release of large amounts of chakra and the chanting of the leader's voice. When he came in Garra watched as the Akatsuki members finished the hand seals ending in one he had never seen before. Thinking quickly Garra commanded the sand he was able to collect and sent it towards the strange writing and the seals under Naruto.

Aoba was just finishing the last part of his chant when Garra's sand broke the pattern on the floor. When he saw what was happening screamed, "NO, DO NOT BREAK THE PATTERN!" But it was too late as the sand had already reached Naruto and broke several of the runes and seals.

The breaking of the seals and runes caused an imbalance in the chakra in the room. Worst yet was that Aoba had completed the summoning ritual and now not only was charka flowing at an uncontrollable fashion but it was not making a constant drain and re-infusion back in the spheres and Naruto making both begin to surge in power. "We must leave here at once!" Aoba ordered.

"Why is that?" Asked a scared Zetsu.

"The result of the imbalance has caused the spheres to crack," Aoba answered. "Soon the Tailed Beasts will be loose. And not only that the Nine Tails is also being pulled here as well."

Outside everyone was in the middle of digging when a sudden surge of chakra blasted the forth from the once collapsed entrance. Without any warning everyone was blown back, but most were able to recover enough to land safely and catch those that did not recover. When they looked up they saw about half a dozen people coming out of the entrance. Everyone immediately went on guard; that is until another wave of chakra caused everyone to be blown away from the cave. This time it took a few seconds for everyone to recover.

When Sasuke woke up he saw Itachi standing not far away from him. He was about to attack when Itachi spoke, "I do not believe now is the time for our fight Sasuke."

"And why is that," came Sasuke's cold response. His answer was a primal roar coming from the cave.

"That is why," Itachi said.

"What happened?" Jiriaya asked.

"Garra interfered with the ritual and caused an imbalance," Itachi answered.

"Then how do we stop it?" Jiriaya asked again.

"The only one that could tell you that is now dead," Itachi gestured to the body of Aoba with a piece of sharp rock stuck through his chest.

Jubei came up to the three and said, "I would recommend we leave here if I thought I would do any good." Jiriaya was about to ask why when the most horrifying sight he ever witnessed came.

The mountain that housed the cave where Akatsuki was based burst open in all directions. What came out was not lava but something or some things far more dangerous. Each one of the Tailed Beasts that Akatsuki took slowly exited the resulting creator. The only thing on everyone's minds was, "Oh Kami."

After near endless silence after the violent actions just minutes ago the Tailed Beasts continued to surround the crater as if they were waiting for something else. Or perhaps a better statement is someone else. For from inside the crater a figure emerged. All of the Tailed Beasts observed the figure as he walked out, almost as if wondering whom or what it really was. When the figure came into sight of the humans they were surprised to see that it was Naruto. Only his feral features were much more pronounced and there was a red aura around his body. But what surprised and scarred those from Konoha the most was the nine foxtails made of chakra flowing behind him.

Naruto calmly made his way out and to the humans. When he was less than two meters from them he looked at them then turned and looked up at the Tailed Beasts. The silence was broken by a entirely dual grumbled and smooth voice from Naruto, "Leave, return to your layers, you will be sent back later by Darkness."

"And what of you Kyuubi?" the Eight Tailed Dragon asked.

"I can not at this time," Naruto/Kyuubi answered. "I may join you later or I may not. I do not know at this time."

"Very well," the Dragon spoke. And one by one the Eight Tailed Beasts left surprisingly silently.

Next Naruto then approached the humans, or at least one human. "Hinata-chan," Naruto/Kyuubi said. "I must leave. I do not know if I can return this time. If I am able to return then I will." Hinata not trusting her own voice could only nod. In reality she could even fathom what had happened to Naruto, but something in the back of her mind told her that if she did not let him go something very bad would happen. And not just to them but to a lot of other people. After her nod Naruto/Kyuubi wrapped Hinata in his arms and tails and then pulled back. Not saying another word and a burst of red chakra later he had vanished.

Several minutes of complete silence past until the snapping of a twig behind the group broke the trance everyone was in. When they turned around they saw a limping Gai carrying a limp Lee in his arms. "Hinata, Lee needs you help."

Hinata responding to her name ran to the injured duo, "Set him down carefully." Gai obeyed and after a scan with her Byakugan she said, "I can stabilize him but he needs full treatment back in Konoha."

"Then we had better head back," Jiriaya said.

Everyone got up ready to leave when Sasuke stopped and started to look around, "What is it Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I can't find Itachi," He answered. Everyone began looking for any signs of the surviving Akatsuki members and could not find any. "I have to find him!"

Sasuke was about to leave when Sakura grabbed his arm, "There has been enough for today Sasuke-kun. Let him go."

Sasuke was about to protest when another voice stopped him. "You'll get another chance Sasuke-san," Hinata said. "Please let us all just go home." Sasuke nodded relenting to his friends. He could wait, and if he was being totally honest he was just too tired to fight.

The trip back to Konoha was slow and silent. Everyone was trying to figure out what to do. So much had been done and so much was left undone. Everyone was perplexed on how to actually describe what they witnessed. When they finally arrived Tsunade ordered a complete debriefing. The group then relayed the events that happened from the time they left to when they returned. Those that fought gave their individual accounts and the results of their fights, but Tsunade was not really listening to that part. She stopped listening completely soon after when she learned about Naruto. After the debriefing everyone was ordered not to tell anyone about the details of the mission, only that it was complete and that Uzumaki Naruto would be listed as missing in action.

After that everyone got back to their lives as best they could. Garra and his siblings went back to Suna and he began his training to be Kazekage in a few years. Isalia and most of the Saville tribe went back to Plains Country though a presence always remained as part of the treaty. Neji surprising many asked to join them and with Tsunade's permission he became Konoha's representative to the tribe. Sasuke thinking about his personal life got up the nerve to ask Sakura to be his wife, she of coarse accepted and the two have been planning their future ever since. Jiriaya went back to traveling to gather more material for his books. Lee was hospitalized for a few weeks but went back to active Anbu duty after his recovery along. Everyone else that was part of the strike force also went back to their normal duties. And finally Hinata moved back into the Hyuuga Compound not wanting to sleep in her and Naruto's bed unless he was in it.

One day Hinata was returning home from her duties at the hospital. It was mid September and the air was just starting to cool off from summer. Hinata was about to enter the grounds when her father came out to her. "Hinata, Tsunade-sama wishes to see."

"Did she why Father?" Hinata asked.

Hiashi shook his head saying, "All she said was that it was necessary for you to come to her office."

"Very well Father," Hinata said, "I will see you when I am done." She left with a bow and made her way to the Hokage Tower.

When she entered the Tower she found it almost completely empty as was mostly the case at this time of day. Hinata made her way up the stairs to the Hokage Office, and as she approached he heard voices from the other side, "After I found it he was there waiting for me. It took along time to finally get it out because it was part of me not just in me like last time."

"And how much to you retain this time?" Tsunade's voice asked.

"A little bit more than last time," the first voice said.

To Hinata it sounded too familiar to be true. He hesitantly opened the door and on the other side was a person wearing black and dark red with blond hair talking with the Fifth Hokage. When the door squeaked the figure turned to her and Hinata gasped when she saw the smile that was always meant so much to her, "Naruto-kun?"

"Yes Hinata," Naruto said. "I was able to come back. And know here I am." Hinata did not say anything she just ran the short distance and pulled her husband into the strongest kiss she could manage.

When they pulled apart Tsunade said, "Now that you're here Hinata we can re-plan the ceremony for your marriage here in the village next month." Neither of the two listened to the Hokage as they just stared into each other's eyes a sight both missed more than anything in the world when they were apart.


End file.
